Cold & Clear
by localsportsteam
Summary: Fake-dating AU. Elsa, whom Anna has been estranged from for a few years now, finally extended an invitation for her and her boyfriend, Hans, to come visit for Christmas. Small issue - she and Hans broke up months ago. She's not ready to admit the faults of that relationship to Elsa yet, and thankfully a tray of brownies seems to be all it takes to persuade Kristoff to help her out.
1. Chapter 1

It'd been eighteen hours, and Anna still hadn't opened the text.

This was still fine, it wasn't terribly unusual for her. Sometimes she'd open texts, think of the response, forget to actually send it, and then reply for real in two days when she realized. Sometimes she'd accidentally leave her phone at home and wouldn't see anything until she got back from work. Three times she had dropped her phone in the bath from trying to watch baking competitions while soaking. Elsa wouldn't be worried. So Anna could still justify not responding.

But Anna hadn't forgotten - she was very, very aware of the text.

_**Hey Anna! It's Elsa. I mean, you probably knew that. You have my number. But I've decided to host a small Christmas party this year and I was hoping you and Hans would come! It's this Saturday.**_

This Saturday. Elsa. She hadn't seen Elsa in years. They'd lived together for a year while Elsa was going to college and Anna was finishing high school. Anna remembered the fight all too easily -

"_I know something's wrong, I just want you to let me help!"_

"_There's nothing you can do!"_

"_I know it's complicated, but I love you and I-" _

"_Anna, drop it!"_

"_Please, Elsa, I can't live like this anymore!"_

"_Then leave." _

It was that simple to Elsa. Anna shook her head, refusing to think of it anymore. She'd already spent so many hours picking apart that one interaction, trying to understand it, to understand Elsa. To understand why exactly she did choose to leave, and come back to Arendelle. But now was not the time to continue doing that. She couldn't afford to cry at work. Oaken was not a bad boss but he certainly wouldn't react kindly to one of his sales associated crying by the suntan lotions. Taking a deep breath, she resumed folding sweaters.

She and Elsa exchanged texts and emails (why did Elsa still casually email?) throughout their three years apart after the fight, keeping each other updated on the major points of their life. Like Elsa's graduation (which Anna learned about after it had already happened), or the fact that Elsa moved up to Maine (Anna did remember how much she liked the cold). It was over email that Anna told Elsa she was in love with Hans Westergard, a man she had met in a coffee shop and gone on three dates with.

It was a very cute story! Anna had ordered a caramel macchiato with four pumps of chocolate, extra whipped cream, and chocolate shavings. When they called out the order a man laughed - and then their eyes met. He offered to buy her a scone to go with it if she'd sit with him for a while, and Anna was all too happy to talk to such a handsome stranger (especially since she got a scone and a muffin and a pain au chocolat out of it).

_Elsa, _

_You won't believe what happened to me! I met this guy three days ago and he's GORGEOUS like he's got this really soft red hair and these like hazel-y eyes and he's taller than me and wears aviator sunglasses without looking like a douche about it and we met in the coffeeshop by my apartment and talked for hours! Like honest to god hours. About everything - our families, our lives, our dreams, and i really felt like he was listening to me, you know? _

_So we've been out every night this week so far and we went out dancing and got dinner and he didn't even ask me to split it with him which was refreshing and he's kissed me of course but he hasn't been pushy about doing anything else which is also refreshing because like ugh you remember Tyler right? Whatever I'm not even thinking about that because I know what true love is all about now! Oh my god his name is Hans I can't believe I didnt lead with that. But I'm in love with him, Elsa. He's literally dreaming. I sounds like one of those girls from a 70s sitcom but I know how they felt now! We're gonna get married. He hasn't asked yet but I know that we are - I attached some wedding dress ideas. I was thinking it could be a big ceremony and you could come down and if you're seeing someone you can bring her too but I want a fluffy dress i think. I don't know. Let me know what you think of the dresses! _

_It was so cute. I told him I loved him yesterday and he was like 'i didn't know what love was before I saw you.' Elsa I MELTED. This is really it. I can't even explain how excited I am. Do you think a spring or summer wedding is better?_

_Let me know what's going on with you, too!_

_Love,_

_Anna_

_Anna,_

_You can't be serious, right? I've read the email six times now and I don't think you're joking but I need you to tell me that you are. You cannot marry a man you just met. It is not possible to be in love with someone after three dates. I don't know why he said it back to you, but he does not feel that way and neither do you. Please do not rush into this. This is not how love works._

_I am well. I am thinking about applying for grad programs but I don't know if that's the ambition talking or my depression flaring up again (I mean this as a joke. I am very much still seeing the therapist and my depression is currently being managed.)_

_Elsa_

Anna had ignored that message for a while as well, but only because she was too furious to respond. Who was _she_ \- the sister who had kicked her out and frozen her out to tell _her_ how love worked? That's rich! She typed out five progressively less angry responses over the course of a week but didn't send any of them. They hadn't spoken since - well, until Elsa had sent that email.

She knew that Elsa meant inviting Hans as an olive branch, and she knew that she had to go. She loved Elsa; she missed Elsa. And, perhaps more importantly, she understood Elsa. If she turned this invitation down another may never come.

But there was a _slight_ issue - she and Hans had broken up months ago.

…

Kristoff grunted a little as he picked up two boxes, carrying them into Oaken's store.

"Hullo!" Oaken waved. He didn't offer to help, but that was fine. Kristoff didn't really need it.

"Where do you want these?"

"In the back, please." Oaken folded his hands on the counter.

Kristoff nodded and trekked towards the back, almost accidentally slamming into an oblivious Anna.

"Kristoff!" she said, stumbling into a shelf.

"Oh, sorry!" he said, putting down the boxes.

"No, it's my fault, I wasn't paying attention."

She looked at him nervously for a second, scanning him up and down. Part of him wanted to ask her what was wrong, park of him figured it wasn't his business. He kept his mouth shut.

Kristoff had been making deliveries to Oaken's store for, what, three years now? Oaken was easily his best customer. Anna was one of his three employees, and it was very common that she would be the one to unpack and stock whatever he brought. She worked every day except for weekends and Tuesday mornings. Coincidently, his delivery schedule was built so that he never needed to come to Oaken's on Tuesday mornings or weekends.

Anna surveyed Kristoff. Elsa had never met him before - she'd never even been down to Arendelle, Massachusetts, so she wouldn't have possibly seen Kristoff before. And Anna had known him for a while - he was certainly her best guy friend, and maybe her best friend overall. Which felt sad to say, because it's not like they even hung out outside of work, or texted. He had asked for her number a couple months back, in case there was a 'delivery emergency' - whatever that was - but these delivery emergencies must be rare because he'd never texted her anything. Well, she texted him her number by sending;

_**Hey, it's Anna! °˖✧◝(⁰▿⁰)◜✧˖°**_

To which he responded;

_**Lol**_

And that was it.

But she still counted him as a friend. She saw him almost every day, and they always talked. He helped her unpack the boxes, even though, at the beginning, she had told him that it was fine, this was her job. He dismissed this with a wave of his hand and told her he was going to 'unpack them properly'. Again, whatever that means.

She was going to ask him because she trusted him and, perhaps more importantly, he had never said no to her before. He'd often rolled his eyes or grumbled when she asked for a favor, but he'd never said no.

"Kristoff, I need your help."

"With what?"

"I need you to...pretend to be my boyfriend."

"What?" Kristoff turned bright pink just at the suggestion, though Anna wasn't quite sure why.

"Just for a weekend!" Anna said quickly, holding up her hands.

"How does that possibly make this better?"

"Well, it's not forever! You don't have to actually marry me or anything."

"Oh, much more normal. Great." Kristoff rolled his eyes.

"It's not normal!" Anna agreed. "But these are extenuating circumstances."

"What are?" Kristoff said flatly, but still listening.

"So, you know I've told you about Elsa."

"Your estranged sister in Maine, yeah."

These words were true, but Anna didn't like to hear them. She never wanted to be distant from Elsa, it had just...happened. She needed to fix it.

Kristoff seemed to notice her discomfort. "Sorry. That came out...harsh."

"No, you're right. But that's not the point. Or, rather, it is." Anna folded another sweater to keep her hands busy. "She thinks that I'm dating someone, and we got into a huge fight over said relationship, and she invited me _and_ him up to see her for the first time in, God, years at this point."

"Are you dating someone?"

"No, we broke up. Or else I wouldn't be asking you."

"Right." Kristoff bristled, but Anna didn't notice.

"And she wants us both up there, tomorrow."

"Why'd you break up?" Kristoff asked.

Anna paused, mulling over how to put it in a way that was honest but still wouldn't hurt to say. "We just did." she eventually said, quietly.

Kristoff dropped that conversation thread. "So, you want me to take you to Maine to see your sister, and pretend to be your boyfriend?"

Anna perked up. He would maybe actually do this! "Right! It's just, I haven't seen her in so long and I want to show her that I can maintain a relationship, and that I didn't rush headlong into it - even though, you know, I did. And I will tell her the truth eventually! But not now, not when we're still so distant. This invitation from her was the first time we even _spoke_ in a year. I can't respond and be like 'Sorry! Hans and I broke up! I know I was talking about being Mrs. Westergard but-"

"Hold on, hold on, your boyfriend was _Hans Westergard?_" Kristoff groaned, rubbing his hands over his face.

"Y-yeah? Is that an issue?" Anna said, bunching a sweater in her hands.

"I mean, no, but God, I went to high school with him. That guy was the biggest dick I've ever met."

"Smaller than you'd think." Anna mumbled, looking down and smirking a little.

Kristoff snorted and loudly laughed. Anna just beamed at this. It was very rare she got a big laugh out of him - he was always more inclined to a smirk or a snort.

"Oh, I'm going to remember that." Kristoff said, pushing his hair up out of his eyes. "How long?"

"It's a Christmas party - you don't have anything with your family, right?"

Anna knew that Kristoff had a large family that he was a part of every way but biologically. His parents had died when he was a kid. He had never elaborated on how, but he was the only person who wasn't uncomfortable when Anna made Dead Parent jokes. He got that sometimes it was about laughing instead of crying. Sometimes it was just coping, and that was enough. She'd cracked one around Hans once - he had just looked at her, horrified. Gave her a long speech about how her life was full and important and precious, like that making a morbid joke was equivelent to going on suicide watch. Anna didn't know how to handle any of that. He had patted the top of her head, like a child.

"No." Kristoff removed her from her train of thought. "We have plans for actual Christmas but this Saturday is just the 20th."

"Good, good." Anna nodded. "And the party is just Saturday. We could come back on Sunday. Leave as early as you want."

"Interesting."

"One more little favor, though?"

"I technically haven't even agreed to this one."

"But if you do!" Anna said, leaning in. "I want you to break up with me. Publically, in front of Elsa."

Kristoff furrowed his brow. "What? Why?"

"I can't carry on the lie forever, this is the easiest way out." Anna said honestly. "I suppose this will give her a little bit of victory, seeing that she's right. We don't have to plan it all out now, Sunday you can drive back and I can take the Amtrak train. Or we can go back together but be 'unhappy' about it. Maybe she'll invite me to stay for the week and we can, I don't know." Anna shuffled a little. "Fix things."

Kristoff looked at Anna, seeing more than she was saying. She really wanted to fix things with her sister, but she didn't know how. This at least seemed like the best way to go about it. Open up some vulnerability, and allow for love to fill it. She didn't know how to heal without creating a wound.

Kristoff crossed his arms and leaned back a little, looking her up and down. "So, I take you up Saturday, we do the event, convince your sister that I am Hans and we are in love, but then you want me to break up with you-"

"After the party, probably"

"in front of her so that she knows the relationship ended even though you got a good, what, year out of it? And then we go from there?"

"Yes!" Anna said excitedly.

Kristoff smirked at her. "This is a pretty big favor...what's it worth to ya?"

Anna's face fell. "I don't really have a lot of money, but-"

"I don't want your money." Kristoff said. "I said, what's it worth to you?"

"I will owe you my life."

"I've seen it. No thanks."

Anna smacked him. "I will bake you the most delicious six-chocolate brownies you've ever had."

"We're getting warmer."

"And I'll make carrot-cake flavored treats for Sven."

"Oh, you drive a hard bargain." Kristoff laughed. "But I don't know…"

"And I promise to not make you sing any Christmas carols."

"Done!" Kristoff agreed, extending his hand.

_**Hi Elsa! Yeah, we'll be there. What time?**_

_**I'm so glad! The party starts at six, but I have a guest room for you and Hans. Come up whenever is most convenient for you. **_

_**I'll text when we're on the road! (◕ᴗ◕✿)**_

…

Anna hovered over her suitcase, biting her lip. It was one weekend, how hard could it be to pack? But it was such an important, awkward weekend. She didn't want to wear anything that Elsa would think was too dressy or too casual. Elsa liked formality. She liked structure. She liked subtlety. Her friends would be similar. Her party would reflect that. Anna didn't want to draw too much attention at the party.

And then there was Kristoff. He'd never even seen her outside of work before - he had no idea how she dressed. She had no idea how he dressed. And Elsa had said that she had a guest room for them. Of course they'd be sleeping together, they'd been dating for a year, right? That was a very natural assumption for Elsa. Thoughtful, even. What pajamas does one wear when you're sharing a bed with your best friend who you also don't know that well but he's also pretending to be your fiance? Anna had never seen a Cosmo article on that. She sighed, and decided to go back to sorting through dresses. She had a green one. It was tasteful, midi-length, off the shoulder. Christmas-y without being cheesy. That could do.

_**What time do you want me to pick you up?**_

Kristoff's name popped up on her phone, with a little ice pick emoji next to his name. Anna picked up her phone and hovered for a second, wondering if she should make him wait. No, why would she be playing games? She had done that with Hans before - tried to make him wait for a text or call back so he'd appreciate it more. It usually just irritated him, but sometimes it worked. But Kristoff wasn't Hans, and he was asking a straightforward question he definitely needed an answer to.

_**We could sleep in a bit. The party isn't until six. I'd like to be there a few hours beforehand to unpack and get ready, so maybe leave at like 1:00? **_

_**In this snow? It's going to take us seven hours to get up there, if we're lucky. Do you want to eat food on the road or do you want me to pack stuff?**_

_**You cook?**_

_**I have to eat, don't I?**_

Anna giggled a little. She responded;

_**Can't you just photosynthesize like the rest of us? Okay, if I want to be there by 3:00 at the latest, what time should we leave, Mr. Mountain Man?**_

_**With a lunch break and a hard deadline? 7:00.**_

Anna groaned.

_**In the morning? Eastern time?**_

_**Yes. **_

_**UgggGGGhhhhhHHHhh I hate waking up early. **_

_**You don't have to go to bed. It's already 10:00, if I pick you up at midnight then we'll be there at roughly 7:00. We can take an extra leisurely breakfast, get there at 8:00 even. Don't have to wake up if you don't sleep.**_

Anna felt a little excited at this prospect. A night road trip! She'd never been on one of those before. Or a road trip at all, really.

_**Okay, that sounds fun. Are you really fine staying up all night?**_

_**Wouldn't be the first time. Pack up, I'll be there in two hours. I know a good breakfast stop at the southern Maine border. **_

_**Okay! Can't wait!**_

Anna hopped up and down a little, plugging her phone into charge. She hated mornings, but loved nights. And this was shaping up to be an exciting one! She folded up the green dress and packed it. Okay, she'd need underwear, jewelry, socks, jeans-

…

Kristoff felt a strange kind of excitement driving up to Anna's apartment. That was the most they had ever texted in one go. That was the most they had texted at all, really. Which was pretty sad, considering that Anna was Kristoff's second closest friend (the first being his dog, Sven). She was just as excited through text as she was in person, and there was something endearing about that.

He wondered if he was stupid, agreeing to this plan. Maybe if she was someone else, it could've just been fun. It's one weekend, and it's not like he had other plans. If it was just a friend of his he could've leaned into the role and played it off as a joke. But it wasn't quite like that with Anna. There was a feeling there he didn't quite have a word for - not one he was willing to admit, anyway - that made this seem to have higher stakes than it did.

But it didn't matter, because he'd already agreed and he certainly couldn't back out now. He pulled into the parking lot at almost exactly midnight, hopping out and walking up to her apartment - 2B. He knocked on the door, unsure if she had roommates or not. They were probably normal, and would be sleeping.

Anna threw open the door excitedly. "Hey!" she said, pulling him into a hug. He didn't even have time to react before she let go. "Sorry, I'm almost done packing."

"Okay - wait, almost? We're going for a weekend! You've had two hours!" Kristoff said.

"Yes, so you understand the time pressure I'm under." Anna said. "That's a lot of choices to make in a very short time."

"Do you have roommates?" Kristoff said, quietly.

"It's Massachusetts, there's no way I can afford to live alone." Anna laughed. "Gerda and Kai. They're not here. They almost never are. So don't worry about noise."

"Okay, so how are you not packed again?"

"Almost done!"

"Is that a swimsuit?"

"You never know!"

"_Anna_!"

"Okay, ready!" Anna zipped the bag and pulled it behind her.

Kristoff grabbed the bag off the ground from the side, popping the handle back in. "No way that this rolls in the snow, we've got two inches down already. "Come on."

Anna might've been offended if anyone else did this to her. But with Kristoff, it never came off as condescending. He wanted to help, so he did. Why he wanted to help so much, she couldn't quite be sure.

…

Kristoff was surprisingly talkative for so late at night - was it possible he was a night owl and an early bird? Did such people exist? He still didn't talk nearly as much as Anna, but he listened and responded, and seemed alert. They talked for an hour before anything consequential happened.

"Oh, here," Kristoff said, lifting up off the seat, reaching into his front pocket, and dropping something into her hand.

Anna gasped - it was a beautiful ring, with a small diamond inlaid amongst gold braiding. "Kristoff, what is this for?"

"I'm your fiance, aren't I?" Kristoff said. "I figured you should probably have a ring. Or, you know, it wouldn't be believable. I noticed you weren't wearing one yesterday, so I didn't know if you had a ring, like, generally."

"It's very beautiful." Anna hummed.

"It was my mother's."

Anna turned quickly at the surprise of this. It wasn't just a department store ring an old girlfriend had left behind at his apartment, it was an important ring. It was probably a real diamond. "Oh, Kristoff-"

"I do want it back." he smiled. "But you can use it for now."

"This is very sweet of you, and it's a really beautiful ring - but I was never engaged to Hans."

"What, I thought-"

"No, we were just dating." Anna insisted.

Kristoff snorted a little. He always knew Hans was an idiot.

"I can't bear the thought of losing it, I'm sure it means a lot to you." she held it back out to him, and he tucked it in his jeans pocket. "Thank you though, really."

"No problem." Kristoff mumbled, not taking his eyes off the road. The headlights illuminated the falling snowflakes, which were thick and heavy and piled up all around them.

Anna usually felt nervous when she drove in a storm, but she felt far more comfortable with Kristoff at the wheel. She didn't know how much of snow driving was skill and how much was luck, but he seemed to know what he was doing.

"Oh, I should text Elsa!" Anna remembered.

_**I'm sure you're in bed, but just wanted to let you know we'll be there bright and early! Probably like eight?**_

"I hope she's okay with it." Anna mumbled.

Kristoff laughed. "Doesn't matter much now. Either way, I'm sure she'll be happy to see you."

"I hope so." Anna said, a little sadly.

"Why wouldn't she be? She invited you."

"Last time we talked we had a huge fight." Anna said.

"What about?"

"Hans." Anna said simply.

"Why?"

"Well, I fell in love with Hans very quickly. I knew him only a few days when I told her - and him - that I was in love."

"You _what_?" Kristoff interrupted in disbelief.

"Yes, okay, maybe that was naive! But he said it back!"

"Really?" Kristoff said. "After knowing each other for a few days? Not like you had known each other for a while but gone on a few dates, like you only learned of his existence a few days prior?"

Anna huffed but went, "Yes, it was stupid, but it was intense! I really felt something, and I hoped he felt the same! I thought he did! And it didn't help that he was the first guy I'd been out with in like, forever, and he was so cute and doting and would send me good morning texts-"

Kristoff held his breath. _Was this really what she wanted? Was this what would make her happy?_ Alternatively, he then thought - _was this really all it took?_

"-so I got sucked into all of it. And I was literally looking at wedding venues and dresses-"

"After three days?"

"I'm not saying it again!"

Kristoff was silent for a second, looking out at the open, empty, snowy road. "So what happened?"

"Well at the conclusion of week one he said he'd make me dinner, and he made this big fancy meal, and told me how much he loved me, and then we-" Anna gestured loosely with her hand. "Then we slept together and he never texted me back after that."

Kristoff gripped the steering wheel, hard. _That snivelling little prick. That absolute bastard. How could he do that to her? To her? What the fuck was wrong with him? Did he have any idea who he let go, what kind of angel he just let slip through his fingers? How could someone have the option, the opportunity, to love her and just say no? Who was that stupid? Okay, okay. Calm down. Hans has until your 10 year high school reunion. He dies then. _

But he couldn't say all that aloud. "You didn't deserve that." he said gruffly. "You deserve someone a thousand times better than that asshole."

"Thanks," Anna smiled. "I hope you're right."

Kristoff looked at her, confused. What? Did she not know?

...

The snow delayed them, so they reached the breakfast spot around eight. It was a small diner with dark brick walls and large windows. Neon signed advertised $1 malts and $2 short stacks, both of which sounded equally good to Anna in the sleepless dinner-breakfast purgatory she was in. There were red and green paper chains and paper snowflakes hanging in the windows, and it made Anna feel a bit warm inside. The sign in front just said 'Diner', and Anna laughed a little at the simplicity.

Kristoff took her arm to steady her - there was salt put down on some areas, but it had either been missed or snowed over in others. He pushed open the door to the sounds of bells.

"How did you know about this place?" Anna asked.

"Well-"

"Kristoff!" two children hopped down from a booth where they were eating and coloring, curls springing as they ran to him.

"Kristoff is here?" a middle-aged waitress turned around. "Oh, baby! Come here!" she strode over from her customers, wrapping him in a hug.

"Ha, good morning Bulda."

_Bulda?_ Anna gasped. "Kristoff, is this your family?"

"We sure are!" Bulda pinched his cheeks. "Oh, you're getting skinny again Kristoff, we can't have that one bit!"

"Bulda-"

"Sit, sit, now who are you?" she asked, as she stepped in to give Anna a hug. "Pabbie!" she called to her husband back in the kitchen. "Get out here! Kristoff's here, and he's got a girl!"

At this point, the ten or so customers who had braved the snow to get their food were looking at the scene. Anna was giggling. Kristoff was bright pink.

"Why didn't you lead with that?" Another woman stepped out of the kitchen, tying on an apron. "Oh, isn't she pretty!" she hopped up to Anna and pulled her in for a hug as a middle-aged man stepped out of the kitchen as well.

"He's brought a girl? He's never brought a girl!"

"I'm lookin right at her, Pabbie!"

"Anna's not-" Kristoff started.

"Anna! What a pretty name. Where are you from?"

"Arendelle." Anna said.

"Oh, Kristoff runs deliveries down there all the time. Is that where you met? Come, come, sit down!"

"Yes, he delivers supplies to Oaken's. That's where I work."

"Now, how sweet."

"It _is_ a girl!" Pabbie finally came over, laughing.

"We're not dating." Kristoff interrupted as they sat down in the booth.

"Then why'd I come out of the kitchen?" Pabbie laughed. "Are you sure?"

Kristoff flicked his eyes to Anna and back. "Pretty sure. We've had a long drive, Ma-"

"I'll getcha some food." she turned to Anna. "I bet you like chocolate."

"Oh, ma'am we're going to get on just fine."

Bulda laughed, a big hearty laugh Anna had only heard from Kristoff a few times. "Not as long as you're callin me ma'am, we're not! Bulda or Ma, those are your choices."

Anna missed saying Ma. "Alright, Ma."

"I'll get some hot chocolate for you, and some coffee for you." she pointed at Anna and Kristoff respectively. "I'll be back."

As soon as she left, Kristoff groaned and put his face in his hands.

"They're wonderful!" Anna beamed.

"I thought they'd be calmer about all this."

"I'm glad they're not!"

Kristoff looked up, but didn't say anything.

"I've always wanted a family like this." Anna sighed, then sniffed dramatically. "And the food smells _amazing_!"

"She's smart, Kristoff!" Bulda called from the kitchen. "Don't be so quick about letting her go!"

…

_**We'll be pulling up in about 30 minutes! **_

Anna texted Elsa after the left their very large, very chocolatey, very carb-y breakfast. Did you know you could make whipped cream chocolate? Wow! She was happier than she'd been in a while. She clung to Kristoff's arm - partially for stability, partially because, well, she could. He was technically her boyfriend. Technically. It seemed as though Kristoff's entire family watched then from the large diner windows. They'd be the talk of the diner for a while, whether they wanted to admit it or not.

_**Everything is all set up for you and Hans. Can't wait to see you. And to meet him. **_

Anna grimaced a little.

"What's wrong?" Kristoff noticed.

"Elsa just said she's excited to meet Hans."

"Oh yeah, you're going to have to call me that." Kristoff chuckled. "Why is that bad?"

Anna shrugged a little. "Just that I'm lying to my sister. And that it doesn't matter if she wants to see him or not, she won't."

"Do you miss him?" Kristoff asked, a bit scared of the answer.

Anna bit her lip. "No. I'm over him, in that sense. But even though it's been a year, I feel so stupid for being caught up in my feelings that I was able to be taken advantage of in that way."

"It's not your fault." Kristoff said sincerely. "You're a good person. You would never do anything like that, which is why you didn't expect it. Your mind doesn't work that way. It's too focused on being kind."

Anna smiled a little at this. "I suppose I've never thought of it that way. Do you mean it?"

"I do."

"Well, thank you."

They got into the car, and Anna texted Elsa back;

_**We're excited to see you too. **_

_**Did you already eat breakfast?**_

_**Yeah, we stopped off at a diner a little bit ago. Wait, you didn't make anything, right?**_

_**Nope, no worries! I was just wondering if I should whip anything up. **_

_**Oh no, I wouldn't ask you to inconvenience yourself like that. You're already being so nice, hosting us. **_

_**Anna, please. It's nothing. I'm happy to do it. **_

Anna smiled at this. Kristoff noticed, especially when she beamed at the next text.

_**After all, you are my favorite sister ;)**_

"This is good." Anna said aloud. "Okay, here. Let me tell you what you'll need to know about me in order to feign this being a relationship."

"Okay, shoot." Kristoff nodded, eyes on the road.

"We met at a coffee shop. We've been out dancing and to movies, you've made dinner."

"Fairly standard there."

Anna gave him a challenging look. "What, would you do better?"

"I sure would." Kristoff smiled.

"Where would you bring a girl?"

"Where would I bring a girl? Or where would I bring _you_?"

Anna balked a little at the idea that the distinction may be important. "I'll bite. Where would you bring me?"

"There's this fondue place about 20 miles north of Arendelle - they'll bring out a pot of chocolate fondue and caramel and white chocolate and little bowls of fruit and marshmallows and stuff like that, and you sit at a big table with like eight other people and you're supposed to all talk and share and I know you like chocolate, and you're social, so I thought you'd like it."

Anna gasped. "Can we go? Like when we get back?"

Kristoff snorted. "Sure. If you want."

"That's amazing! How did I not know that was a thing?"

"Guess you weren't looking in the right places."

"Oh, speaking of which! Okay, things about me. My favorite place is-"

"-the french market by Fjord Park."

"Okay, yes. I was born-"

"In Boston, then moved to Arendelle as a kid, and you moved out to Boston when your parents died, then with your sister in Allston, then back to Arendelle."

"Okay, so what, you know everything?"

"Anna!" Kristoff laughed. "I appreciate the prep work, but I already know everything I'd learn in being a relationship with you." he looked her up and down quickly, so quickly she barely noticed. "Well, mostly, anyway."

…

_**We're here!**_

Elsa opened the door before they'd even gotten their bags, but Anna dropped hers and ran to her sister, wrapping her in a hug. Elsa staggered back in surprise but patted Anna on the back.

"Hello." Elsa said. Distant, but not cold.

"Hi." Anna sighed.

"Is this Hans?" Elsa asked, looking over Anna's shoulder.

"Huh? Oh, yes!"

Kristoff had gathered his duffel and Anna's suitcase and purse, leaving him one free arm to shake Elsa's hand. "Thank you for inviting us."

"My pleasure." Elsa said sincerely, looking him up and down. She seemed satisfied with whatever she was looking for and welcomed them both in. "Would you two mind helping me cook?"

"Not at all!" Anna said excitedly.

Elsa whispered at Kristoff. "Do you know how to cook?"

"Yeah?" he said, confused.

"Good. She doesn't." Elsa laughed a little, then dampered a little. "Unless she's recently learned."

"We'll do it together." Kristoff assured her.

"Okay, thank you, Hans."

Kristoff would have to get used to that.

"I have to run to the grocery." Elsa said. "I'll be back in an hour. Sorry, I would've done it yesterday, but-"

"We came a bit unannounced." Anna said, understanding.

"No! No. I'm happy you're here."

"We'll get settled, don't worry about it."

"Great, great!"

Elsa left and Kristoff turned towards Anna. "Is everything okay?" he asked.

"It's not bad. I think she's just overwhelmed." Anna said honestly.

"Really?"

"I mean, you're the boyfriend that semi-caused the rift between us, and we haven't seen each other in years, and Elsa has a lot of issues with anxiety. Sometimes she just needs to...leave." Anna shrugged. "So she might take a while grocery shopping, or drive around for a little bit. It'll calm her down."

"Oh, okay." Kristoff nodded.

"And I haven't seen her home yet. Want to go explore it?" Anna offered.

"Yeah." Kristoff smiled.

They walked to the first door and saw a sparse room. "This must be where we're staying." Anna said. She went and dragged their bags in. Kristoff put hers up on a stand and put his duffel at the foot of the bed.

"It looks nice." Kristoff said, looking around.

"She's always had good taste." Anna walked out, peering around. The home was open and bright and sparse and while it felt like her sister, that was not a necessarily comforting thing.

Anna felt tears welling up in her chest and she bit her tongue to try and keep everything in. This was it. She was really back, and she didn't know what to do about it. Logically, she knew that neither Elsa's depression nor anxiety were her fault, but they kept them apart anyway. It sent Elsa off outside as soon as Anna even stepped into her home. She wanted Elsa back into her life, but Anna had to sometimes wonder if it was even healthy for Elsa to be around her at all.

With a sharp exhale, she wheeled around and wrapped her arms around Kristoff, pressing her face into his chest.

"Hey!" Kristoff said, then settled his hands on her back. "Hey, are you okay?"

Anna shook her head a little, but didn't move, squeezing him tighter.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Anna shook her head again.

"Okay." Kristoff said, wrapping his arms around her and resting his chin on top of her head.. "It's okay."

…

Elsa came back after an hour with groceries and they got to work on what was left of the food - Elsa had made the bulk of it before they even arrived. When it was all done, they were all so fed on their sampling they didn't even need to eat.

"I'm going to go get ready." Anna said, excusing herself.

She closed the guest room door behind herself, taking a deep breath. Things were calm. If nothing else, there was that. She and Elsa were together and working, and lightly chatting. They hadn't brought up how it had been so long, or what they'd been up to. Bits of information came up as they did - oh and can you hand me the olive oil?

This was good. It was a start. Anna could work with starts.

She walked over to her bag and pulled out the green dress. She laid it on the bed and went to go wash her face. She braided up her hair and pinned it to a milkmaid brain. She put on makeup, trying to keep it subdued. No bright lipstick, no glitter eyeshadow. Some foundation, some blush, some mascara. Perfect.

Anna stepped into the living room, green dress swirling around her knees. She had lightly curled her bangs and tied a gold pendant around her neck.

"Ready!" she exclaimed, fingering the dress.

"Wow," Kristoff said audibly, sinking back after saying so.

"You look beautiful, Anna." Elsa said sincerely. "You'll be the loveliest girl at the party."

"After you, of course." Anna beamed.

"I'm not so sure about that." Elsa said, standing up. "I'm going to go change myself. I'll be out in a bit."

"Elsa's right." Kristoff laughed.

"Oh?"

"You really are the loveliest girl." he kissed her hand, dropping it to go change himself.

Anna stood there, looking after him.

…

"So how did you two meet?" one of Elsa's guests asked Anna and Kristoff.

"We were in a coffee shop, and I just saw her." Kristoff said tenderly, laying a hand over the one she had on his arm.

"Hans asked me to stay and talk with him for a while and I did. After talking for an hour I called in sick for work, and we stayed and chatted the whole day."

Wait a minute. Kristoff remembered that day - it was like a year back when he went to make a delivery and Oaken was suddenly short staffed and frazzled. He asked Kristoff to help manage everything until lunch when the other employee was coming in. Kristoff was busy, but not busy enough to justify leaving Oaken in the lurch like that. He had asked Oaken what happened, and he said Anna called in sick at the last minute. He remembered wondering if it was appropriate to text Anna and see if she was alright. But that was not a package emergency.

If he had known she was off with that asshole, he would have invented a package emergency. He felt angry, and something else he couldn't quite put his tongue on.

...

"Oh yes, it was absolutely love at first sight with Hans. He's so handsome, don't you think? And we went on such lovely dates - dinners and dancing and movies. He's just so fun and exciting to be around."

"You're really lucky to have found such a fine man."

...

"He gave me a rose every single day for the first week I knew him. Left it at the coffee shop since he knew I'd be there every morning. The barista would give it to me."

"My, that's like something out of a movie! I just met my wife on a dating app."

…

"I hadn't felt that way before with anyone." Anna said, a little softer than she made the first comments.

"But you've got him now, dear."

...

And all of Elsa's friend cooed about how romantic that was, how all of it was. A few hinted at marriage or 'next steps' but Kristoff found himself slowly withdrawing from the conversations, leaving Anna to tell all the stories.

Kristoff didn't like this, but he knew it was stupid. Everything Anna was saying was true, or at least true at some point, and he didn't know how to differentiate. She waxed about how she _loved_ Hans, and thought about him _all_ the time, and thought he was _so_ cute. She said it in front of him, and when she thought he couldn't hear, and probably also when he actually wasn't around. She had really loved this dude. And he had to sit there and pretend to enjoy what she was saying as if it wasn't about another man - and not just any other man! - one of the men who had made high school as unbearable as it was. But, as far as Elsa knew, and as far as he needed to pretend that _he_ was Hans, and he was soaking up all these compliments with equal adoration.

How could he be jealous of himself?

…

Elsa bit her lip, watching all this. She'd been wrong and, worse, she'd driven Anna out of her life with it.

She didn't know if Anna would come or not, and it wasn't until she showed up that she realized how stupid of a worry that was. Anna always showed up. Anna never stopped caring. That's probably why it worked with Hans. As soon as she told him she loved him, she meant it. She'd always mean it.

Elsa of course had no way of knowing she was sharing this anxiety with someone else in that very room.

…

Kristoff watched her, and he stood there and stewed next to her. This was it. His foray into the life of a luckier man was complete. He stood here all night as Anna gushed about how much she loved Hans, and how he made her feel, and how he was really, truly, the love of her life. At times, several times, he felt like she meant it.

Eventually they mingled away from people to go refresh their drinks.

"Now's a good time." Anna said, excitedly and a little bit tipsy. "Break up with me now."

"I though you we were going to do it after the party?"

Anna shook her head. "I've been thinking about it. If we cause a bit of a scene, it'd be more, like, penance for me."

"You won't be embarrassed?"

Anna looked away. "I think I will be. But I sort of deserve that, at this point."

"Anna, no-"

"Just do it. This is what these people all deserve to see. We'll play it out from there." Anna said quickly.

_Why should he have to endure Hans' scorn for him? He had ruined everything, and now Kristoff was going to have to hurt a girl he actually cared about, because Hans was too stupid to deal with things like an adult!_

Kristoff reached for her gently. "Anna-"

"Oh yeah?" Anna yelled, taking a step back. "Well, i know you have your secrets! What are you keeping from me now?"

Kristoff burned as a dozen eyes settled on him. They were absolutely the center of attention now, and he wasn't getting out of that.

"It's not a secret." he said quietly.

"Oh, so now you're just going to be open with it?" Anna challenged, provoking him.

Everyone was looking at him. Anna was trying to blaze fire but she couldn't get it into her eyes. Why did she want to be embarrassed in front of these people? What would it help? Why did he have to do it? Why did he agree to this again?

"Yeah, yeah I am." Kristoff said, almost emotionless.

"Well?"

"The only secret I have is that I love you."

Anna's brow furrowed in confusion.

Kristoff continued. "I've told you, but you don't know. Which is why I got this." he reached into his jeans pocket, and pulled out a ring. "Marry me, Anna."

The people at the party gasped. A few cheered. One wolf-whisled. A few clapped. They all moved in closer as Hans (Kristoff?) dropped to one knee, egging Anna on to accept.

Overwhelmed, confused, and unsure who she was talking to, Anna stammered. "Yes?"

The crowd descended in on her, but not before Kristoff got to her, sliding his mother's ring on her finger.

…

The party wrapped up a bit north of midnight, with the small group heading home. Elsa was tired, and looked out at the mounds of dishes and food with exhaustion.

"Let me help." Anna said, smiling. They put the leftovers into containers and piled the dishes in the kitchen. They put stray garbage in the bin and sorted the recycling. Kristoff moved furniture back and re-arranged decorations back to where they were.

"We can do the rest tomorrow." Anna promised, noting her sister's slowing movements and very aware of her own exhaustion, having not slept the night before.

"You're right." Elsa said calmly, smiling at Anna. "I'm going to bed, you and Hans do the same."

"Okay. Good night." Anna hugged her sister, a bit awkwardly, but it was a start.

"It's been lovely meeting you, Hans." Elsa said, smiling warmly at Kristoff.

"You too, Elsa."

"I'll see you both in the morning."

Kristoff and Anna walked to the guest room. Anna stood in the doorway, watching as Kristoff moved with purpose and ease, pulling up his sweater (and tugging up his t-shirt for only a second) and heading over to his duffel bag.

"So...hi." Anna said awkwardly, putting her hands behind her back.

"Hi." Kristoff smiled awkwardly, taking a smaller bag out of his duffel and going to brush his teeth.

Anna looked around the room. It was lovely, very well decorated - as she would probably expect from Elsa. Minimalistic, with some blues mixed in. The bed was a queen - large, but not large enough - and it had four very comfy looking pillows. There was one closet, one dresser, one bathroom. They'd be sharing everything.

Anna figured she should change quickly while she still had the room to herself. She zipped open the suitcase and pulled out jeans and a jacket and socks and underwear (like twenty pairs? Why did she pack so much underwear?) and...and no pajamas.

"Shit!" she muttered, rifling through again. Of all the things to forget - She looked at the clothes. She couldn't _actually_ sleep in denim. She'd probably get a yeast infection or something. She didn't know how yeast infections worked but that seemed possible. All of her bras had wires. She'd brought several dresses in an attempt to look nice for Elsa, but those had buttons and zippers and other things that were not pleasant to sleep on.

"Are you good?" Kristoff stepped out of the bathroom, toweling off his face and hanging it up as he looked at the pile of clothes she'd scattered all around the floor. He was smart. He'd packed flannel pants and a black t-shirt. How did he look so good in such a basic outfit? Who fills out a t-shirt like that?

Anna bit her lip. "I forgot pajamas."

Kristoff flushed a little. _Why? Why?_ "Are you sure?" he asked.

_Why? Why is he blushing? _"You're welcome to look, but I've checked three times."

"Can you just sleep in any of your outfits?"

"Not in any degree of comfort." Anna said honestly.

Kristoff sighed and grabbed the back of his t-shirt and pulled it up over his head.

Anna stood there for a minute, just _looking_ at him. Of course she had known he was strong. She had seen him carry giant boxes and suitcases with ease. She just hadn't really processed that strong...looked like _that_. Like the smooth panels of a chest and a flat stomach. The wisps of blonde chest hair. The broad shoulders and definition on his arms. The freckles across his shoulders. If she had been able to pause time, she would've used it to run her hand down his torso, just to see what he felt like.

Kristoff didn't know exactly what she was thinking, but he could hope. Anna seemed to get herself out of whatever thought pattern she was in and ducked into the bathroom to change into the shirt.

When she came out, he said, "If you're livid with me, I can sleep on the couch."

"I'm not livid with you." Anna said. "Why'd you do it?"

"I don't know." he said, semi-honestly. After a pause, he said. "You could've said no, though. That would've been dramatic."

"I wanted _you_ to hurt _me_."

"I think that was the issue."

"What?"

"I couldn't do that."

…

_**Congrats on the engagement! We'll do something fun in the morning.**_

Anna looked at the text, then sighed and put her phone down. That was a problem for the morning. Right now she was in a room with her alleged fiance, who was still walking around without a shirt. Had he tricked her? Sure, she could've said no. Maybe she should've waited until the morning. But he had agreed to break up with her, and he hadn't! That was cheating. And now he was walking around, _reaching_ for things with those _arms_, and making it very difficult to be mad at him!

"I'm not going to make you the brownies!" Anna finally said.

Kristoff had to fight back a smile. "Is that my punishment?"

"Yes. Sven can still have the treats, but only because I won't punish him for your mistakes."

"We should have you sainted for your generosity."

"No sarcasm!" Anna said, throwing a pillow at him. He caught it, laughed a little, and walked over to the bed, sitting down.

"I'm sorry." he said. "I'll break up with you in the morning."

Anna stuck out her tongue at him.

"And I will sleep on the couch."

"No!" Anna said, before thinking.

"Unless my beloved fiance does not want me to?"

"Ugh, shut _up_!" she flipped over and buried her face in the pillow.

It really wasn't until that moment that Kristoff processed how small she was in comparison to him. Even with her arms over her head, his t-shirt covered her butt (most of it), and the width of it swamped her. It'd be so easy to pick her up. Which he might have to do, because she was filling the whole bed.

"If you want me to stay, you're going to have to scooch over a little bit." he said.

She starfished out in response.

"Alright." he reached for a pillow and she sat up and grabbed his arms.

"Sorry! All pillows for me!"

"Well that hardly seems fair! There's four, and only one you!"

"Well, I didn't propose to anyone today!"

"Oh, is that the metric we're using?" Kristoff challenged, swooping up all four pillows. "I think actually when you do the proposing, you get the pillows. And you didn't propose to anyone today, so-"

"Hey!" Anna leapt up and grabbed one of the pillows from him, wrestling her way into his arms in order to try to free a second pillow. She pressed her back up against him and punched a pillow free.

Kristoff let the other two drop as he swooped her up bridal style and tossed her back onto the bed. Throwing the fallen pillows at her gently, he slid next to her into bed. Anna splayed a hand across his chest and he wondered if she could feel how his heart rate sped up, or if she'd possibly realize that she was the cause.

"Okay, we can compromise." Anna said. "Only because I'm tired." She flopped down and settled into bed. And the experiences of the day and the long sleepless night caught her in that moment, putting her asleep in moments.

Sleep did not come so quickly to Kristoff. He was exhausted, probably, but he couldn't feel it beneath the adrenaline. In her sleep, Anna had pressed herself up against him, leg hitched over his waist, arm across his chest. He wondered if it was okay to touch her. He wasn't going to move her off him - he didn't hate himself - but he didn't want her to wake up and wonder why his hands were all over him. He settled for resting a hand across her back, and one on the knee that had been hitched up towards him. It was comfortable. It was natural. It was fine, it was fine, this was actually absolutely going to kill him.

He wanted to wake her up, tell her everything he felt, and see if she felt anything for him. If there was a reason she was so insistent that he didn't sleep out on the couch, or on the floor. Why had she stared at him like that? Was it a good staring, or a 'god, who let their heinous beast into my bedroom' staring? He knew she was getting grilled by Elsa's friends but why did she have to talk about Hans so much? And be so convincing?

He looked over at her head, resting on the plane of his chest. He snorted when he realized she was drooling a little. She was certainly comfortable around him.

She had technically said yes, that had to mean something, right? Of course it was fake. They weren't going to actually get married. But she could've said no - and she didn't.

He kissed the top of her head, closed his eyes, and tried to dream of a less confusing world. Sleep came eventually, those dreams did not.

...

Anna awoke with a bit of a start in the middle of the night, disoriented by her surroundings and already confused by everything that had happened over the past day. But it all came back to her quickly. She was up in Elsa's house, she was with Kristoff, she was...maybe engaged to Kristoff?

He was sleeping, snoring lightly, and she looked over at the clock. Four a.m. Certainly not time to wake up, or even close. Anna realized she'd drooled on him a bit. Oops. She picked up the hem of the shirt and wiped it off. Hopefully he wouldn't notice. Sitting up, she realized that he looked just as good in the moonlight as he had when he took his shirt off only a few hours earlier. Giving in to her impulses, she delicately ran a finger down up his arm and down his chest. His muscles were firm and his skin was smooth, with baby hairs that thickened only on his chest and near his belly button.

His chest rose and fell as he breathed, and she suddenly found herself wishing he was awake. She realized, fully, only then that she was alone in bed, half-naked with a man she certainly was attracted to.

"Hey, come back to sleep." he mumbled, his voice deep and still full of sleep. He ran his hands up her hips to the niche of her waist, pulling her back down on top of him. He wrapped his arms around her and she settled into his chest, burying her face in his neck. They both fell asleep again, each unwilling to yet say what the other wanted to hear.


	2. Chapter 2

The sun had streamed into the morning around seven, a very normal time to wake up. A very normal time that Anna and Kristoff absolutely slept through. The hours ticked past that and they snoozed, wrapped up in each others' arms. They'd had a tiring day, in a lot of ways. No one was going to deny them their rest.

But still, they woke in their own time - Anna first.

"Good morning." Anna whispered to Kristoff. This was not entirely true - it was nearly 1:00 in the afternoon. But it was good.

"Gmorgning." Kristoff grumbled.

Anna laughed. "Break up with me, then we can go home."

"No." he still hadn't opened his eyes.

Anna giggled. "No?"

"No. To all."

"C'mon sleepyhead. I thought I was bad in the mornings."

"I'm a morning person. I just don't want to get up." Kristoff said.

"What?" Anna laughed.

"Nothing." Kristoff sat up and rubbed his face, freezing as the past forty-eight hours rushed over him. He looked at Anna, wearing his t-shirt, legs poking out and crossed. Her could see that her underwear was purple. Her thighs had freckles on them too.

"What?" Anna asked again.

"Nothing." Kristoff lied. He should've faked still being asleep. This is the one day in her entire life she was awake of her own volition. Why? That's not fair.

Anna hopped up, grabbing a pair of jeans and a cropped sweatshirt from the suitcase and ducking into the bathroom. She brushed her teeth and washed her face. She'd put on makeup after breakfast. Maybe. She strolled back out to see Kristoff reaching up and stretching. She watched his muscles move in his abdomen and settle as he opened his eyes and relaxed.

"Enjoy it while you can." he teased. "Once we're split I'm joining the nunnery."

Anna was embarrassed that he'd noticed her ogling, but smiled at the idea that he didn't really mind. "What a loss for womankind. Also, I don't think they'd let you in a nunnery."

"Fine. Then I want to be pope."

"Are you even religious?"

"That has nothing to do with it."

"I'm not so sure the Catholics would agree."

"Well, we'll see. So," Kristoff walked over to her, asking a question he never could've anticipated asking her. "How do you want me to break up with you?"

Anna's smile fell, and she paused to think. Right. They didn't have the theatrics anymore - no one was drunk, no one was home but Elsa. They'd have to break up in a way that was convincing - convincing enough to take them from being newly engaged to broken up in less than twenty-four hours.

"Maybe say it was all moving too quickly. That'd be rich." Anna snorted. "I would deserve that."

"Isn't that a little strange, considering I was the one who proposed?"

"Say I twisted your arm about it. That's sort-of true. That I asked you to come up here with me, and talked about it too much, and after the fact you really regretted it, so…" she shrugged. "So you figured that was a bad sign."

"Okay." Kristoff nodded. "If this is what you want, let's do it."

Anna didn't answer that directly. "Get dressed."

…

"Good morning!" Elsa said chipperly, sipping from a teacup.

"Morning!" Anna smiled, stepping out into the kitchen. "Sorry we slept in so late."

"Oh, no need to apologize!" Elsa waved her hand. "I figured with the travelling and the party and everything you guys would sleep in."

"Oh, thank you for understanding." Anna smiled.

"That's why I told the wedding planner not to be here until one."

"Thanks - wait, what?"

"She's amazing. I had to call in a couple favors to get a consultation this last minute." Elsa said excitedly, waving them into the dining room.

Anna looked around - everything had been cleaned, all the dishes were away. She felt a pang of guilt about not helping that was quickly overwhelmed by the petite woman sitting at the dining room table with small piles of binders around her.

"Wedding planner? Elsa, we only just-"

"Oh, I know." Elsa waved her hands. "But when else would you be up here?" she said. "You are more than welcome to stay for the next week. I figured since it's Christmastime you'd be off work-"

This was correct. Oaken had already closed the store and taken his immediate family to Minnesota.

"-Hans, I'm mostly just hoping."

"Hans?" Anna furrowed her brow. "Oh, yes!" she turned around. "Hans, darling, _Hans_, do you uh, have work?"

Kristoff was fighting back a smile. "I'm my own boss dear. I don't have to go to work until I want to go back. And Oaken is the majority of my deliveries anyway."

Anna gave him a bitter smile. _Way to get the hint! _

The woman stood up, revealing a navy suit. "You don't have to make any decisions today, this is really more of a consultation." she smiled and walked over.

"Oh, well there's that then." Kristoff looked over at Anna and nodded.

"Alright, I suppose that's fine." Anna said, still at a loss for words.

"My name is Marianne-"

"That's a good wedding planner name."

"-Pickles."

"Marianne Pickles." Anna nodded. "I, uh, think I've heard of you."

Kristoff had to turn a laugh into a cough.

"I wouldn't be surprised." Marianne smiled, placing her hand on a stack of binders. "I've done weddings - beautiful weddings, if you don't mind me tooting my own horn, so to say - all throughout New England. Elsa tells me you live in Massachusetts?"

"Yes, Arendelle."

"How quaint. I know several venues in the area, and loads in Boston if you're looking for something more upscale." Marianne flipped open a binder, revealing two bridal magazines that had just been three hole punched and placed inside. "Let's take a look through my portfolio."

"Are you published in here?" Anna asked, flipping through the glossy pages.

"No." Marianne said simply, folding her hands and refusing to elaborate.

"Then what do you mean by _your_ portfolio?"

"You see, I bought the magazines."

"I think that's the standard meaning." Elsa nodded. "But Marianne picks the loveliest magazines."

"Thank you Elsa, this is true."

Anna stared at Elsa, who did not move.

"Now." Marianne held up her hands, switching with alarming consistency between making eye contact with Anna and with Kristoff. "Let me create a visual moodboard for you, using only my words. This is your wedding: banjo, cheese fountain, tulle, mascarpone?, dueling harmonicas, post-it note affirmations, wild beavers, large waterfall, free ear piercing station courtesy of Claire's™, early 2000s rom-com with a cyberpunk twist."

Anna sat there, frozen. "Those are all...certainly words."

Kristoff had turned his head, muffling a laugh as best he could, which was not very well.

"I really feel like I'm there." Elsa nodded, resting her chin on her hand.

"I know." Marianne nodded. "I know. Now, I have seen some delightful food spreads put together by mid-budget couples in Green Bay, Wisconsin. How do you feel about the Green Bay Packers?"

"That is...a sports team?"

"Yes. No one knows which sport."

"...okay." Anna looked at Elsa, begging her to tell her this was all a joke. Elsa looked straight-faced and engaged.

"Excellent. Brett Farve will be making an appearance at your wedding. He requires two entrees."

"Okay, I'm sorry, I really don't feel ready to talk about any of this!" Anna said, trying to be polite.

"I sense that I may be overwhelming you." Marianne nodded, closing one binder and exchanging it for another. "Most brides feel the same way you do, worry not. We're going to simply start at the beginning. The vibes."

"The vibes." Kristoff nodded.

Anna spun around and shot him a look. _Don't encourage her!_

"Vibes are important, Anna."

"Yes, _Hans_, thank you." Anna said through clenched teeth.

"What sort of vibes are you looking for your wedding to give off?" Marianne leaned in.

"Good ones?"

"Excellent choice. We will proceed accordingly."

"Why don't we see what Hans wants." Anna turned over to Kristoff.

He was looking through one of the binders, where a magazine of dresses has 'vibes' scrawled on the pages in different colored pens, and smirking.

"Hans!" Elsa called out, waving her hand.

Neither Anna nor Kristoff responded.

"_Hans_."

Anna elbowed Kristoff. "Hans, Elsa is speaking to you."

"Oh, sorry. Zoned out." Kristoff leaned over.

"What do you think of an outdoor venue?"

"I like the outdoors." Kristoff nodded.

"I was thinking a bog." Marianne suggested.

"Okay, less keen on bogs."

"You'll really love this bog. It has 5% more toads than an average bog."

"Well, can't miss that." Kristoff conceded.

Anna didn't know how Kristoff was just _dealing_ with all of this. Everything was very overwhelming. How was every decision so stupid? Did Elsa really think this was what she wanted? Anna looked over at her sister again - nothing. Completely straight face.

So, Anna pulled over another binder and flipped through, trying to salvage something of the meeting.

…

Eventually, Ms. Pickles packed up her many binders and headed out, thanking them for their time and for keeping their vibes well-tuned. Anna didn't know how she possibly controlled that, but was happy Marianne was happy. She was a little scared of what would've happened if Marianne was upset. Elsa walked Marianne out, and came to sit back at the table. Marianne had left behind a couple binders of samples and some loose sheets of paper, for their browsing pleasure.

"I'm going to go shower." Kristoff said.

"Good, you're no help anyway." Anna bunched up a paper and threw it at his back.

"Some of these dresses are nice." Elsa said, pulling a magazine out of a binder. "Marianne is a bit much, but she really is very good."

"As long as she's guarding my vibes." Anna said sarcastically, then started laughing. "I'm sorry, where did you find her?"

"She's married a few of my friends." Elsa nodded. "She actually officiated the first lesbian wedding in Maine, as soon as the Supreme Court decision was passed."

"Oh, that's actually pretty cool." Anna said.

"I don't know her super well, but I know she's talented." Elsa nodded.

"Okay." Anna nodded. _Elsa trusted her, that wasn't for nothing. Elsa didn't trust people for nothing. _"So let's see some of what she brought over, anyway."

Anna looked through the magazines. Elsa sat there, looking down at the page and then up at Anna, as though she wanted to say something. Whatever was on her mind, she didn't say it. Not yet. They sat in silence for several minutes before Elsa finally spoke.

Elsa pulled some more of the photographs towards herself. "Well, uh, what are you looking for?"

Anna bit her lip. "I've thought about weddings a lot." she admitted.

"Right from the beginning with Hans, if I remember correctly." Elsa smiled a little.

Anna didn't want to address this. "Beyond that, though. Ever since I was little. They always seemed...magical almost. The movies made them look so pretty and loving, all those friends and family and decorations. And I know this isn't a movie. I'm not going to spend, like, a hundred thousand dollars on this wedding. That'd be ridiculous. I can't afford to have a wedding that looks like that, and it's fine."

"You can still have a very nice wedding for under $100,000" Elsa said.

Anna smiled at her.

"For a very reasonable $95,000 I think you can get close enough."

"Oh, well in that case I'll start writing checks." Anna said, grabbing another magazine.

"Did you know he was going to propose?"

Finally! A question she could answer honestly. "Elsa, I didn't have a clue in the world."

Elsa smiled. "Yeah, you looked pretty surprised. Can I see the ring?"

Anna held out her hand, not wanting to take it off. Because it was his mother's. Only reason.

"It's beautiful." Elsa sighed, examining the stone. "Do you know where he got it?"

"It belonged to his mother."

"Is she nice?"

"She died when he was very young."

The weight of unspoken words sat between them. Elsa understood there was a peace in their similarity. She knew this was not something to be celebrated. She wanted Anna to be understood; too few people bothered to really try. Even fewer would succeed. But she didn't know how to say it in a way that wasn't ungraceful and bumbling, so she merely said, "I'm sure she'd be happy to see that you're wearing it. And to know that you love her son."

Anna felt a sense of calm when Elsa said that, making it all the more uncomfortable the half-second later when she realized Elsa was referring to Kristoff. She couldn't - ?

"Thank you." Anna squeezed Elsa's hand, the one near the ring. "That's sweet of you to say."

Elsa nodded and withdrew as Kristoff walked back into the room. Anna was confused by Elsa's change in openness - why would things be different with Kristoff there? Anna was now used to him; comfortable enough around him that she didn't need to filter her thoughts. He already knew so much about her - and proved it constantly. She realized it wasn't realistic for Elsa to feel this same way after only knowing him for two days.

"So what are you looking for most in like a dress, or a venue, or decorations?" Elsa asked.

"I mean, all of this is important," Anna began, looking down at the pictures. "I want a nice dress and cake and venue and everything - but it all feels a little...for naught. Since...since our parents can't be there."

Elsa was quiet for a second. "I know how you feel. It feels like you're perpetually forgetting to do something. I'll find something or watch a program and want to call Mom to talk about it, but I can't."

"Everything changed so quickly after they died." Anna said, flipping a page. She knew if she looked at Elsa she'd start crying.

"It really did. I felt like I vacillated between thinking that I was cursed by the universe, having to go through everything with my mental health and then this, and thinking that I was overreacting - everyone expects to lose their parents at some point. It happened for us a little sooner, sure, but there's people who don't even remember their parents. Or lose them as young children. It felt self-centered to let it spiral out like it did."

"You know that's not fair to place that all on yourself. I felt pretty much the same way, and I felt guilty about it too." Anna said.

"I never knew that."

"We never really talked about it." Anna shrugged a little, trying to stay casual. "We had a great childhood, really. You and I would play outside all the time, Mom and Dad loved us. We always had what we needed, we got a lot of what we wanted. There's a lot of people who aren't so lucky. I still felt like the unluckiest woman alive."

Kristoff sat there, listening to Anna speak. He understood what she was saying - he'd felt the same way too. He never knew his biological parents - they'd died when he was an infant. He missed them, of course, and spent a lot of time wondering what they were like, or what they would've been like had they lived. But he also had his adoptive family, and they were warm and loving and had raised him as best as they could He wanted his biological parents back, but he didn't want to give up his adoptive family either. It was conflicting. He reached under the table and squeezed Anna's hand.

She looked over at him, but did not retract her hand.

"I know how you feel." Anna continued, looking at her sister.

"Probably more than anyone." Elsa agreed. "I've...I've really missed you Anna."

Kristoff felt Anna squeeze his hand.

Anna took a deep breath. "I've missed you a lot, too." she smiled. "I'm really glad to be here." she laughed. "Even if everything is a bit of a whirlwind right now." she coughed, pulling her hand away to cover her mouth.

"I'll get you a water - want one, Elsa?" Kristoff asked, standing up.

"Yes, thanks Hans."

Anna watched him leave, only having her attention drawn back when Elsa spoke.

"He is a good man." Elsa admitted quietly.

Anna looked after him, speaking too quietly for him to hear. "I think so too."

Elsa looked at Anna lovingly. Her sister was here. They were talking. Even after all the pain between them, maybe things could get better. If nothing else, it was a start. There was hope.

Anna looked down at her phone as it lit up with a text;

_**I miss you. It's been too long. Let's talk. **_

...

A wedding isn't put together in a day, especially not one like Ms. Marianne Pickles had in mind, so in time Anna and Elsa and Kristoff dispersed. There was no sense and no joy in pouring over the magazenes all day. Elsa was left alone, and her mind was racing. Elsa cleaned when she needed to think or worry, and she cleaned now.

At first, Elsa wanted to be angry. She's read those two fateful emails a thousand times over the course of the past year. She knew every word, every grammatical error, every sentence she wish she'd said differently, or not at all. She'd parsed through a hundred alternatives to how she would have put things, and how Anna may have reacted. It wasn't good for her. She almost deleted them, just to stop, but couldn't bring herself to do it.

All this to say, she knew every word Anna wrote about that coffee-shop meeting. And she remembered exactly how Anna had described Hans.

_I met this guy three days ago and he's GORGEOUS like he's got this really soft red hair and these like hazel-y eyes and he's taller than me and wears aviator sunglasses without looking like a douche about it and- _

The Hans that Anna lugged up with her had thick blonde hair that had definitely never met a bottle of conditioner, brown eyes, and likely would refuse to wear aviator sunglasses. Would he really dye his hair, put on colored contacts, and forego looking like a Top Gun extra just for this party? It didn't seem likely. It was so obvious, Elsa was insulted for a minute.

It was really quite overwhelming to be confronted with. As soon as they came, she got in her car and drove the most convoluted way to the grocery store, thinking. There was something afoot here, for sure. What that was, she didn't know. If this man wasn't really Hans - the original Hans, at least, for all Elsa knew he was still named Hans - why would Anna lie to her? Elsa glowered through this one, feeling self-pitying. Her sister concocts some sort of prank. She'd rather show up with any old Hans off the street than come up here alone and spend time with her sister. She wasn't sure which was worse.

But then, as the driving settled her, she realized that, even if it were true, it wouldn't be entirely unfair of Anna to do so. Elsa hadn't seen her in three years. They hadn't spoken in one. Elsa hadn't even come back down to Arendelle since they left when their parents died. She really didn't have a right to know about anything about Anna's life.

She'd tried to sort of catch them, so to say. Every time she could address this man, she would say Hans, in hopes he'd correct her or forget to respond. It worked a couple times, where he had a delayed reaction. But maybe he just wasn't listening. It wasn't exactly a smoking gun. She needed him to chuckle and go "No, I'm John, an elaborate prank." THEN she'd be sure.

Elsa even tried to push the confession, asking one of her friends to step in as an eccentric wedding planner in hopes that it would be too much for at least one of them. She couldn't tell if Hans saw through everything, but he seemed more bemused than overwhelmed. Anna seemed fairly stressed.

She had watched them at the party and they certainly seemed enamored with each other. Elsa didn't know if that was an act - she didn't even know who this man was! But they still acted tenderly towards each other even when Elsa could be reasonably sure she was out of their line of sight. This wasn't any old Hans, this was a Hans Anna knew. Who she cared about, even if they weren't actually dating. Who cared about her.

Elsa knew that logistically she couldn't try to trap Anna into anything, or accuse her. It'd be murder for their already fragile relationship. But, perhaps even more importantly, she didn't want the ruse to quite yet be lifted. She wanted to see what would come of all this.

It could be good.

…

Anna had ignored the text all day, sliding her phone into her pocket before Elsa could see. It rattled around in her head for hours, refusing to be forgotten.

I miss you.

_I miss you? __**I "miss you"? **_

Anna had texted Hans probably fifty times throughout the course of a month. She'd DM'd him memes, she'd called him, she'd posted selfies with slightly pointed captions. It was embarrassing just to think about. She'd been too overbearing and she knew it. But she just kept making excuses for him and hoping that he was busy, or just forgot, or maybe just lost his phone and would contact her once he got a new one.

She angrily threw all her clothes on the ground and got in the shower, turning the water up as hot as possible. She was angry and she needed to think - she'd stay in there until she boiled herself pink if she had to!

She wasn't going to text him back.

No, she was going to text him back and absolutely chew him out.

No, she'd hear him out. He had to have a reason to be doing this.

No, she'd text him back but be very cold about it.

No, she'd delete the text.

This shouldn't be so hard of a choice! Anna bit her lip, pouring a quarter bottle of strawberry and vanilla scented soap onto a loofah. He ignored her, he didn't care. She shouldn't either! Why did she want closure? Was it closure she wanted?

And what about Kristoff? She wasn't so dense as to not realize she was starting to feel a little differently about Kristoff. She'd always known he was cute, but it was different to see him during the day at work as opposed to cuddling up with him at night. At work he was shaggy-haired and broad-shouldered and strong, but at night he was soft and big and she could feel his individual muscles and see the freckles on his nose. They were both good, but they were too different. She couldn't possibly have imagined the latter, but now that she knew it she couldn't possibly forget.

And she knew from the beginning how big of a favor this was to ask of someone. She knew he was the only person she knew who'd say yes to doing this for her, but he had been kind and good-spirited throughout. Didn't that mean something? How had she not even thought about this before?

But now wasn't time to say anything. She didn't want to mess this up. She'd messed up enough relationships before. Sighing, she dumped more strawberry soap all over her legs and rubbed up bubbles.

And she couldn't make decisions in this headspace.. She wasn't going to default to Kristoff; she wasn't going to choose him only because she couldn't have Hans. She would handle Hans. She would make sure he got what's coming to him. Fire and brimstone and a bunch in the face.

And then she'd figure out Kristoff.

…

Anna stepped out of the shower, toweling off her hair and having already changed into Kristoff's big t-shirt. Without thinking or forethought, she skipped over to him, already in his plaid pajama bottoms, wrapped her arms around his torso and pulled him to the bed. She weighed not even half of what he did but he went back easily; willingly.

He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her on top of his body with a natural comfort that existed not even a day ago. She was comfortable with him; she touched him first. He didn't want to be pushy - not ever, but especially now that he understood what Hans had done to her. Kristoff never wanted her to think that he was using her or manipulating her.

Of course he wanted to touch her, just as an organic, separate desire. But, perhaps even more importantly, he wanted her to _want_ to be touched by _him_.

"Today was a lot," she mumbled into his chest. He wouldn't have even registered her words were she not so close.

He chuckled a little. "Yeah, it was. I liked that lady."

"She was nice!" Anna agreed. "Overwhelming, but nice."

"She was funny. If we were actually getting married I'd want her to plan a party or something. Not a wedding, I'd want a real people wedding. But, like, the engagement party."

Oh, how easy it was for Anna to forget - only for a moment! - that this was just a ruse. She laughed. "She'd serve all the food on frisbees or something."

"It'd be canned chili with caviar - or peaches with green beans. It'd have to be incoherent. That'd be the key." Kristoff nodded.

"That woman is proof you can string words together in any order you want and God won't do a thing about it." Anna said, picking her head up.

Kristoff burst into laughter - one of those big belly laughs she seldom got from him. He laughed so hard she actually bounced up a little, and his joy was contagious. He wrapped his arms more tightly around her, and looked at her with such a gleam in his eyes Anna could've sworn it was love, if she didn't know better.

"I'll call her tomorrow."

"Oh, please don't." Anna said quickly. "I really think we've done all the planning we need to."

"I don't know, we didn't even get to the nitty gritty of it all. What color frisbees?" Kristoff joked.

"UgghhHHhh." Anna moaned, sliding her face into the crook of his neck.

"I want ones that were clearly free ones given out at Fourth of July parades, with some of the logos sort of scraped off." Kristoff continued.

Anna pulled up, holding her face not even an inch from Kristoff's. She stood still for a half-minute. Kristoff was suddenly hyper-aware of every sensory stimulus. She smelled like strawberries and vanilla. Her hair was loose and brushing against his neck. His hands were on her waist. Her legs were lazily over his hips. He could have counted every freckle on her nose, if he had enough of his mind functioning to actually count right now.

"I need you to stop talking." Anna said, a bit of a smile playing at her lips.

As if he could've even _moved_ right now.

She seemed to be far less affected than he, half sliding off him with her leg still hitched, burying her face back into his shoulder. They each had many similar thoughts racing through their minds, but only one identical one - this was a very, very good new normal.

…

Anna woke up that morning to the sound of a doorbell.

"You heard it too, right?" she whispered to Kristoff, face still buried in his neck.

"I'm not even hearing you now. Sleeping." he insisted, squeezing her a little tighter.

"Okay, back to bed." she smiled, relaxing.

There were three knocks on the door. "Anna! Hans! Marianne is a bit early, but throw on some clothes!"

Anna groaned and rolled over. Kristoff started laughing.

"This isn't funny!"

"This is pretty funny!"

"She's gonna plan the whole wedding. We're gonna have to go through with it!"

_I wouldn't mind. _"I think we get some input before the actual vows." Kristoff promised her.

"I really can't be sure." Anna mumbled.

They sat down at the table, where there seemed to be somehow even more binders piled up.

"Today, we discuss the dress." Marianne nodded.

"Okay, I'd like one." Anna said.

Marianne ripped out a picture of a woman in a sleek satin gown. Anna didn't hate it.

"Oh-" Anna reached out to look at the picture, but Marianne snatched it away.

"You see this?" Marianne said, crumpling it up. "Trash. Your wedding is about being big and shiny and that's it. I will put you in a dress so large you're as close to spherical as God will allow. I want your fiance to see you at the end of the aisle and become overwhelmed with the urge to bowl you into some pins."

"You know, I already feel like that most days." Kristoff nodded solemnly. "I'm so glad you can recognize that."

Elsa but the back of her hand to her mouth but didn't make a sound.

…

"Who would've thought there'd be a day where the word 'pickles' sends shivers down my spine." Anna said, flopping down on a chair.

Kristoff laughed. "There's only one way out of this, you know."

"Shh!" Anna held up a hand, looking around to see if Elsa was around and could hear. It didn't appear so. "You're right. We're going to have to fake our deaths."

Kristoff grinned. "Okay that's Plan B. Plan A is you just telling her."

Anna groaned and slid down the chair. "I know you're right but I'd prefer if you weren't"

Kristoff shrugged. "I'd change it if I could."

"Do you think she'll hate me?" Anna was not exaggerating as much as she wished.

"I don't think she ever has." Kristoff said sincerely. "I know things are, uh, complicated between the two of you. But I think she wants to fix things as much as you do."

"Do you really think that?"

"I do."

Anna looked up at the ceiling, thoughts racing through her mind. She hoped Kristoff was right. She hoped that Elsa wanted to be close again. She felt somewhat comfortable with these ideas. But she didn't know if she knew how to fix things, and she wasn't sure if Elsa knew either. Desire was not enough. They needed the ability to change things. They needed to know how to change enough to accommodate each other without changing themselves. Anna looked back at Kristoff. "I'll do it at lunch."

…

Elsa and Anna were alone for the first time in three years. The effect of this was not lost on either of them. Kristoff was not oblivious to it either. He tried to stay out of the way, giving them their privacy, claiming he wasn't hungry.

"So," Anna swirled her spoon in the teacup, clinking against the sides. "How often is Ms. Pickles coming back?"

"Every day until Christmas." Elsa smiled a little, quickly moving to sip her tea. "Don't worry, I've paid her consultation fee."

"How generous. Thank you." Anna said, with the least enthusiasm Anna had ever said anything.

"Is everything okay, Anna?"

"Of course. Why do you ask?

"You just seem...a bit off. Nervous."

"Oh."

Elsa sipped her tea, putting the cup down before speaking, clearly thinking over her words. "I'm your big sister, you can tell me anything."

"I hope you mean that." Anna said gently.

"I do." Elsa promised.

"Elsa...I'm afraid I haven't been fully truthful to you." Anna said, trying to choose her words as best she could. "When I got that text from you inviting Hans and I up here, I thought that it would be best if I brought Hans, but he wasn't - isn't - in my life anymore."

"Oh?" Elsa said simply, but did not look upset.

"We broke up, rather quickly." Anna said, looking down at her lunch. "You were right - he wasn't in love with me."

"Oh, Anna-"

"No, just let me tell you all this quickly." Anna waved her hand quickly. "The man who's here then, obviously, isn't Hans. His name is Kristoff. He's my friend. One of my closest for sure, maybe my best friend. He did this as a favor to me, and agreed to play along because I asked him. It wasn't his idea. I didn't do this to deceive you, or make fun of you. I just... I wasn't ready to let you know that I'd failed."

Elsa looked sadly at Elsa, and reached out her hands to grab Anna's. "Anna, I'm so sorry."

Anna wasn't expecting that. "Why are you apologizing?"

"I'm so sorry that I've made you feel like you had to lie to me about your relationship. I know it's my fault. I can't tell you how much I regret that email. More than that, I can't tell you how much I regret not reaching out sooner, for being more open, for being someone that you could talk to about those things."

Anna felt tears spring up in her eyes. "I'm sorry for not reaching out too. I tried to find the words at the beginning, but I was acting stupid and I didn't want to admit it. I did what was easy because I didn't know how to do anything else."

"I shouldn't have spoken to you in that way. I've done a lot of stuff I regret, Anna. Generally, and about us. But I especially regret sending that email. I didn't have any right to speak to you that way. I didn't know what I was talking about. I've read it over a thousand times, trying to think of how I would've phrased it better. If I could rewrite it, I wouldn't have sent it at all."

"I feel the same way. I wouldn't have let that go all to my head, and I wouldn't have said it like that. Reading it now, after Hans has been gone for so long, I feel stupid for even saying it."

"You weren't stupid. You were infatuated!" Elsa said. "And he seemed like a charmer. Red hair, hazel eyes…"

Anna's eyes opened wide. "You knew!" she swatted at Elsa. "You let us go on but you _knew_!" she laughed.

Elsa laughed, dodging the swat. "I didn't think it was my place to object. Besides, for all I knew, he dyed his hair and got colored contacts."

"You hired that wedding planner anyway!" Anna laughed. "Where did you _find_ her?"

"She's not a wedding planner, she's one of my friends. I asked her to just fake it, but she really leaned into the role."

"Oh my god." Anna put her hands on her cheeks. "Kristoff thought she was hilarious. "He's going to get a kick out of this. So she's not a wedding planner at all?"

"God, no. She's an HR manager." Elsa took another sip of her tea. "She did officiate the first lesbian wedding in Maine, though. That was true."

"So she's just the coolest woman alive?"

"Something like that."

"And her name...is it really Marianne Pickles?"

"Julia Hayes."

Anna laughed, feeling lighter with the joy, the weight of secrets lifted, and the knowledge that Marianne Pickles would not be planning her wedding.

…

Kristoff came out of the room far after lunch, around four. Anna and Elsa had spent the afternoon quietly in each other's company; Elsa read the news, Anna did puzzles. But eventually Kristoff stepped out and broke the silence. Anna heard this, and stood, running in that direction.

"Kristoff!"

He turned around, looking over her shoulder for Elsa.

Anna jumped up into his arms, giving him no warning to catch her but he managed.

"Weird way to pronounce 'Hans'." he joked.

Anna shook her head excitedly, biting her lip. "I told her."

"How'd she take it?"

"Maybe surprisingly well? But she wasn't upset with us. Or, me. If she was mad I promise I would've taken all the blame."

"I wouldn't let you do that." Kristoff said.

"Kristoff! It feels so nice to be able to say your name again." Anna sighed, rolling her head back.

"Okay, so tell me what happened." Kristoff said.

"I told her about everything, and apologized, and she apologized, and turns out Marianne Pickles is one of her friends pretending to be a wacky wedding planner and not someone who will murder me in my sleep."

"Oh, I wouldn't let her _murder_ you." Kristoff said, hitching her up a little. "But I'm happy everything is getting better."

"It's progress, Kristoff. Real progress." Anna signed, speaking in hushed tones as to not let Elsa overhear. "I feel like she might be...more willing to talk about things. Maybe the therapy helped more than I assumed. Maybe I can really, really have a sister."

"You talked about everything-everything?"

Anna bit her lip. "We talked about everything with the email. She knows that Hans isn't around anymore but not anything beyond that. But we didn't talk about the fight we had before. Where I left."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Kristoff sat back on a small couch in the hallway, shifting Anna onto his lap.

"I do." Anna said. "I don't know if it's too much for one night."

"I mean, you didn't come this far not to try, don't you think?" Kristoff asked. "Worst case scenario she pushes back or says she doesn't want to talk about it, and then you stop."

He had a good point. She had hoped from the beginning that Elsa would invite her to extend her stay for the express purpose of healing their relationship. This was the chance she'd wanted with increasing urgency for three years, and it was here. Wasting it would be foolish, and scarier than the alternative. Anna mulled over what Kristoff said, before pushing herself off his lap and walking into the living room where Elsa was sitting.

"You said that I can tell you anything, right?" Anna said, wrapping her arms around herself.

"Of course."

"We can talk about anything, anything at all?"

"Yes Anna, please, what's on your mind?"

"I want to talk about the fight."

…

Kristoff really didn't care for shopping. He had a strategy - find one shirt you like, order it in five colors, done. It was a very efficient shopping style. But, ultimately, that wasn't what he needed right now. If he wanted to he could've been in and out of the store in twenty minutes. But Anna and Elsa needed time alone - he was very aware of why he'd be brought up here. Anna didn't want to show off a fiance, she went because she wanted to see her sister and she didn't know how to do it without a buffer yet.

They were going to talk, finally, and he needed to be gone.

He would give them the time they needed, even if they weren't comfortable with it yet. He hoped things would get better while he was gone.

…

They were going to talk about the fight, and neither sister knew how to handle that. Elsa had nodded when Anna had suggested, and Anna sat next to Elsa on the couch, drawing her legs up into herself.

"Where should we start?" Elsa almost whispered.

"I know this might be stupid. I've read things about anxiety and depression and they explain some stuff, but not everything. And vague articles don't know you. Can you tell me...when it started? Is there a 'why'?"

"I don't think there's a cosmic why, so to say." Elsa began, tucking her legs to the side. "But I suppose I was just more predisposed to it. I didn't really feel like anything was...off until high school. The grief of losing our parents made it worse. There were some days I physically couldn't leave bed. It took me an extra two years to finish college, since there were some stretches where I couldn't dream of walking out of my room, much less walking to school."

"I remember that." Anna said. "I never knew what to do. I didn't know if you wanted attention, because I feel like I would've wanted attention and company - but I'm not you. And when I'd come into your room or try to talk you'd barely respond. But you didn't tell me to leave, so I didn't know if I was helping or hurting."

"It's not that I didn't want you around," Elsa sighed. "I just was...numb, most of the time. I didn't have the energy to be engaging or talk. And then once Mom and Dad died I felt so terrible and yet so responsible. I was the eldest, I was supposed to pick up the pieces and take care of everything."

"I was supposed to take care of you! I should've figured out a way to show you the love that you needed, I should've been able to make you feel better but I couldn't. I just ended up hurting you."

Elsa shook her head. "It's not that you were hurting me, I was just so overwhelmed and I didn't know how to handle anything, especially us. I'm your big sister, I'm supposed to be able to take care of you. You were only in high school when Mom and Dad died-"

"You were only in college!" Anna reminded her, squeezing Elsa's hands. "I was pretty much grown, I could take care of myself."

"It wasn't fair to push you out like that! I never should've told you to leave. I regret that even more than the email." Elsa promised. "I know it hurt you, even when I said it. I could see it in your eyes."

"I just...I always knew that I was a burden." Anna shrugged a little. "It's not unfair of you to say so."

"You're not!" Elsa insisted, her voice starting to warble.

"I just feel...useless! That's the best word, I suppose. Useless and stupid, and-"

"Anna-"

"It's not your fault! You didn't do this to me, but everything that happened...didn't help. It's my fault too, I should've done better, been better, needed less validation, but it's hard for me to navigate. I don't know what's wrong with me." Anna felt tears push up inside her and she looked away, trying to blink them back in. "I just want to feel good, and sometimes it feels like I can't remember how!"

"Okay, here's what we're going to do!" Elsa said, standing up and running to the kitchen. "I have the good stuff." she held up a box of artisanal chocolates. "And I have the good stuff." she held up a four pound container of m&ms. She scampered back out and dumped them on the coffee table, pulling it up so it abutted the couch. She ran back and grabbed two glasses and a bottle of wine from the cabinet over the fridge. "I have more wine, I have more chocolate." she hopped on the couch and wrapped Anna in a hug. "I have all the time in the world."

Anna wiped the back of her hand to catch her tears. "You're very kind, but I know I'm being dramatic. I don't have any right to be this way."

Elsa opened a bottle of wine and poured large glasses for both she and Anna, handing over a glass. "You absolutely have a right." she insisted. "Neither of us will get anywhere by hiding how we feel."

"But Elsa, I've had so many chances, and so many opportunities, and I always just ruin everything!" Anna sniffled.

"What do you mean?" Elsa shook her head.

"Whenever I'm doing something stupid I know it's risky or dramatic but I just - I just don't care! I always focus on the small one percent chance that it'll work out and it doesn't , and then I feel like an idiot."

"You're brave, that's all!" Elsa poured them both more wine. "You're an optimist!"

"It's reckless!" Anna insisted, grabbing a chocolate and chugging some wine. "I know it's a bad idea when I'm doing it, but I just focus on impossible things and I feel that if I take these risks, they'll pay off eventually and then I can finally feel how I'm supposed to feel?"

"What do you mean?"

"Like, really happy. Elated! Something that's exciting and fun and not working at a gear store all day then going back to an apartment where my two roommates are always off doing something without me, and trying to find something exciting or passionate in _Arendelle-_"

"Anna, you're trying your best. There's nothing wrong with this, really."

"No, and I feel stupid for even feeling this way!" Anna said, feeling tears well up and press against the back of her throat. "Because I'm so goddamn aware of everything that I'm doing wrong, and I just can't seem to get myself to stop!"

"Don't say that, you're perfect!" Elsa insisted, pouring her sister more wine.

"If I was perfect I would've been able to help you, I never would've lost-" _I never would've lost Hans._ "I never would have ruined everything the way I do! I know I'm too loud, too needy, too demanding, confusing, and just - ugh!" Anna took a big swig. "I keep thinking, I've always thought that if I just tried harder...if I just wanted it more - then I could be someone people could actually - actually love."

"Anna, I love you!"

"You left, Elsa! You say that, and I want to believe you, and I know I didn't reach out this past year either but I don't know how to be or what to do, and you won't let me learn!"

Elsa was quiet for a moment, tapping the tips of her fingers against the glass. "I know. I'm sorry, Anna. I don't know how to deal with all of this either."

"We can do it, we can figure it out. I know we can do this together. But I don't know how. And I don't know if you want to." Anna bit her lip.

"We can only do this together. You and me. I want to be close with you again." Elsa said strongly, affirmatively.

"I want to be close with you too. You're my sister." Anna said, tears rolling down her face. "I love you more than I love myself."

…

Kristoff came home to laughter, and his heart lifted. He didn't know what had transpired while he spent the day out shopping (or pretending to shop, rather), but it had to have made things better. He put his bags down and heard laughter, then a loud _clang_, and then louder laughter.

He didn't want to interrupt their fun, but he was curious to see what they were getting into. If they were still chatting, he could leave. He followed the noise they were making upstairs, to the bathroom where they were both sprawled on the floor. A CVS bag was discarded on the floor, and fourteen feet of receipts, some chocolate wrappers, and then he came into full view of them.

"What are you doing?" Kristoff laughed, looking at the two bottles of wine sitting there and the weird position Anna had contorted herself in to bend over the tub, under the faucet, while still holding her glass of wine.

"You're righ-ht!" Anna slurred. "I do NOT want to get dye on this." She put the glass down and pulled her top over her head, tossing it into the corner with a victorious smack.

"Anna, please keep your clothes on." Kristoff said. There was clearly a lot going on, and he didn't want to be distracted.

"Make me!"

"I'm not going to do that." Again, he didn't hate himself. "But what's going on?"

"Anna wants to be blonde!" Elsa said, waving the box dye.

"You do?" Kristoff said, a little flatly. Anna loved her red hair.

"Well, I want something!" Anna argued.

"Could you be a little more specific?" Kristoff sat down on the ground and leaned up against the tub to look at her.

"I just, we were," Anna started laughing. "Look, are you telling me none of your friends have just had a mental breakdown and dyed their hair? It happens. I've seen memes about it."

"Okay," Kristoff smiled, moving to stand up. "Why don't we, uh, not do this."

"But we've already mixed the dye!" Anna insisted.

Kristoff sat back down. "If you decide tomorrow, when you're sober, that you want to be blonde, I will buy you new hair dye."

"Sixteen boxes." Anna said firmly.

"Is that really what it takes to dye all of your hair?"

"No."

Kristoff laughed a little. "Regardless, that's fine. Sixteen boxes."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

Anna sighed and looked at the little bowl of dye. "Wait, one streak." she nodded at Elsa. "We didn't do all this for nothing." Anna rolled an inch-wide chunk of hair around her finger and swept the rest of her hair over her shoulder. "Just this."

"Okay!" Elsa said cheerfully. "Blonde Anna."

"Abba." Anna said.

Both girls laughed uproariously.

"Play Super Trouper!" Elsa waved her hand at Kristoff.

Kristoff rolled his eyes but pulled out his phone and played the track.

"Did you have that saved?" Anna shot up, looking at Kristoff's phone.

"No!"

"Unlock your phone!"

"No!"

"Are you scared?"

"Yes!"

Anna laughed and lunged for the phone, snatching it away from him. "Unlock it!" she insisted again.

"Tonight the su-per trou-per lights are gonna find me-" Elsa finished her wine and began to sing.

"Why are you so obsessed with this?" Kristoff tried to deflect.

"If you are an ABBA fan, I need to know that. It is SO important that I know that." Anna giggled, still holding the phone.

"So what if I am?"

Anna absolutely beamed at him. "Oh my god, you are!"

"Are you happy now?"

"No, I have to see." Anna punched some numbers into the phone. "Okay, your passcode is not 420420, interesting."

"Why on earth would it be that?"

"Okay it's not 123456. You're good…"

"Yes, I can hardly step outside without the CIA trying to recruit me."

"And it's not 696969. Interesting. Not sure what other numbers there even are." Anna tsked.

"Don't lock me out!"

"Or what, you can't play your precious ABBA?"

"_You_ asked me to!"

"Semantics!" Anna lunged for his hand but Kristoff knew what she was thinking and yanked it back.

"Oh, I'm not going to make this easy!" he teased, dipping his hand in the bathwater and flicking some on her.

"Hey!" Anna laughed. "I need your thumbprint! For unrelated reasons!"

"Tell me what you need it for!"

"You don't have the clearance!" Anna pushed herself up and scrambled onto him, straddling him without thinking about it. She wasn't thinking much about anything right now. Kristoff tensed up underneath her, giving her just the advantage she needed to grab his wrist and yank his thumb to the phone.

"Elsa, look!"

"-lights are gonna find me! Shining like the sun!" Elsa continued, having refilled her glass.

Anna lurched to the side to show Elsa the phone. Kristoff grabbed the niche of her waist to keep her from falling off his lap.

"Look, he's got a whole playlist! It's called ABBA Hits! He made it four years ago!"

Elsa and Anna both screamed. Kristoff slid his hands down to Anna's hips, figuring he'd just have to wait until they got tired of this. Anna bounced as he looked through the rest of his music choices, excitedly announcing any she found to be humorous. Kristoff found it very difficult to feel the embarrassment she intended, trying to distract himself from thinking about anything other that the fact that she was still straddling him and topless. He'd pictured something very similar to this but it usually involved a bed and a secluded cabin or something, not a bathroom with some hair dye and both her and her sister drunk. It was not ideal! But it was certainly something.

"You like Green Day?"

"Look, I was in high school too!"

Elsa re-discovered the bowl of mixed dye. "Anna, your hair!" she laughed. "Come here!"

"Oh, right!" Anna slid off of Kristoff's lap and he ran his hand down her leg as she left. Anna laid her back over the tub and pulled out the chunk of hair.

Elsa painted the hair dye on in an uncoordinated but ultimately effective way. "Done!"

"Done!" Anna went to go sit up but Kristoff pushed her back down.

"Where's the box?" he asked. "I think you have to sit and, like, wash it out."

"The ancient secrets!" Anna exclaimed, pointing at the box of Clairol.

"The secrets of the box!" Elsa held it up, tribute style, before pulling it back down to read. "Okay, it's got to sit!"

"It's got to sit!"

"And then we rinse it!"

Both girls burst out laughing at this clearly funny revelation.

"Play more ABBA!" Anna yelled, as though Kristoff wasn't eight inches from her.

Kristoff sat there for a moment, then sighed and skipped to the next song.

"MY my! At Waterloo Napoleon did surrreender!" Both girls burst out into song.

"Sing with us!" Anna insisted. "I know you know the words!"

They both continued, "Waterloo! Couldn't escape if I wanted to! Waterloo! Knowing my fate is to be with you! Waterloo! Finally facing my Waterloo!"

Kristoff sat there silently and let Anna push him side to side in a miming of dancing.

"WHOA WHOA WHOA WHOA WATERLOO!" Elsa screamed.

"Pour wine into my mouth please!" Anna asked, wriggling her fingers. "I can't reach my glass!"

Laughing, Elsa got the bottle and tipped it on Anna's face, spilling it all over her face and a little bit into her mouth.

"Perfect!" Anna laughed, coughing a little. "Oh, that stings a little! Alcohol in my eyes! Only a few more minutes, right?"

"Stay strong, queen!"

"Song's ending - take us away, Kristoff!" Anna gestured out towards him.

Speaking flatly - **not** singing - Kristoff said. "Waterloo. Knowing my fate is to be with you."

Both girls cheered.

…

They stuck Anna's head under the faucet to rinse the dye out and then Kristoff held her up steadily as Elsa blew her hair dry. There was dye all over the tub and all of their skin and clothes but no one seemed to mind, which Kristoff thought was out of character for Elsa especially but, hey, he wasn't going to complain. They were together, and laughing. This is what Anna wanted.

"I like it!" Anna said, looking at her one blonde streak. "I feel like the What Not to Wear girl."

"Stacy London." Kristoff nodded.

They both spun to look at him.

"Bulda liked the show." Kristoff defended himself.

They stared at him, smirking.

"I did not hate it." he admittedly flatly.

Elsa laughed and turned back to playing with Anna's hair, but Anna continued looking at Kristoff, a smile playing at her lips. She didn't say anything, but she took her time in turning back to the mirror to look at the streak.

"I love it." Anna said.

"Ooohhh," Elsa rubbed her hands down her face. "I'm starting to get the sleepys."

Anna laughed. "We should go to bed."

"I'll clean up in the morning." Elsa waved at the mess. "I'm gonna go lay down."

Anna nodded, but Elsa grabbed her and pulled her into a hug. "I love you, Anna."

Anna felt tears come at her eyes as she hugged her sister back as hard as she could. "I love you too. Good night, Elsa."

She and Kristoff walked downstairs until he felt her clawing at his back.

"All good?" he chuckled a little.

"Piggy back." she said simply and he crouched down so she could hop up. He had to duck walking into their bedroom so she wouldn't hit her head, but she pressed herself up against him and tucked her head into his neck, inhaling deeply. How did he smell so _good_?

"Alright, end of the line." he said, putting her down.

Anna threw her phone on the bed. "Shhh!" she said holding a finger to her lips.

"What?" Kristoff laughed.

"Look away." she said quietly.

Kristoff rolled his eyes and turned around. Anna pulled off her pants and unhooked her bra, sliding Kristoff's big t-shirt on and kicking her clothes into the corner.

"Okay, I'm decent!" she announced.

Kristoff looked her up and down, more slowly than he had dared to in the past. "Oh, I don't think that's true." he walked over to her slowly, grabbing her hips to steady her swaying. "It's really not fair for you to look that good in a t-shirt. Especially one of mine. How could I ask for it back now?"

Anna's eyes lit up. "I've thought the same thing about you." she ran her hand up his chest. "You just fill it out better, I suppose."

"Again," Kristoff gave her a crooked grin. "I don't think that's true."

He was a bit alarmed at his own boldness, saying the things he'd only thought for so long. But with the amount of wine she consumed there was only a 50-50 shot she'd remember this at all, and about a 1% chance she was possibly thinking about boundaries or proprietary right now. Right now she was doing whatever she wanted, and that happened to be tugging him over to the bed by his shirt.

He sat down, reaching an arm back around her. She clung to his shirt still, looking up at him with a mixture of yearning and confusion.

"Jeg har alltid vært forelsket i deg, vakker jente." Kristoff said, running a thumb across her cheek.

"Sorry, I don't speak Spanish." Anna hiccupped.

Kristoff laughed at this. "Well, good news, that wouldn't have helped you much anyway."

"You speak other languages?" Anna said. "Why?"

"_Why?_" Kristoff teased.

"You know what I mean!"

"Bulda is from Norway. Moved here when she was a young woman. She taught me. She and Paddie spoke Norwegian all the time. Helped her keep home close. Him too, I think. Though he doesn't remember Norway."

Anna smiled. "That's really sweet, actually." She clamped both hands on his face, squishing his cheeks and enjoying how the stubble felt on the palms of her hands. That was what she liked most about being drunk - everything felt heightened. "What other secrets are you keeping from me?"

"Ingenting jeg ikke vil fortelle deg, en dag."

"No fair!" Anna insisted, reaching out for her phone and opening up the translate app. "Speak it into there again."

Kristoff leaned in slowly. "Drittsekk."

"That's not what you said!" Anna looked down at the phone. "Hey! That just says butthole! You're a butthole!"

Kristoff laughed. "Whatever you say."

"Kris," Anna said, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Thank you so much for doing this for me." she climbed back on top of him, much more purposefully than she had in the bathroom. "You're the nicest a man has ever been to me, and I mean that."

"You deserve to have had better men in your life, then."

Anna giggled. "Probably, but I don't think this is an insult to them as much as it's a compliment to you." she ran her hands through his hair, pressing herself up against him. He inhaled sharply, but wrapped his arms around her to hold her snugly against him.

"I'll take it as one." he said, unsteady and unsure of how to proceed.

"You're the sweetest man I've ever met. I don't want you to ever be alone. I don't want you to ever be sad." Anna said, leaning in closer to him.

"Anna, please." Kristoff said softly, unmoving. "Not like this."

Anna froze, her face falling. "No?"

"Not no," Kristoff said. She was drunk and emotional and tired and now was very much _not_ the time but _God_ how he wished it was. "Just, not like this."

Nodding a little, Anna slid off him and onto her side of the bed.

Kristoff didn't know what to say, feeling like a monster for making her look that way. How could he possibly articulate what he was feeling? He hadn't had any time to prepare, and he didn't know if she was trying to kiss him because she was drunk or because she liked him, and how embarrassing would it be if he opened up and told her that he was in love with her, and would like nothing more than to make her forget that Hans - or any other man, for that matter - even _existed_, only to have her wake up the next morning and laugh it off? Or worse, what if she said that she liked him too only to regret saying so in the morning? He knew how he felt, and he knew what he meant, but he didn't want her to feel guilty for not returning the feelings, or have her regret sleeping with him. Almost every scenario would hurt her worse, so he just watched as Anna rolled sadly to the side of the bed and burrowed into the blankets. Was it really only last night that she'd fallen asleep on his chest? While he wasn't sure how he even could've, but he kicked himself for not appreciating it more.

…

_Stupid. _

_Stupid, stupid, stupid. _

Anna didn't sleep, kicking herself for getting drunk and sloppy and letting her feelings all come pouring out. Kristoff was her best friend, and now he was going to think that she was messy or slutty. She didn't even want to imagine what he must've thought when she just climbed on top of him like that. She thought she was being sexy, she really did. What an idiot.

He only saw her as a friend, and now he saw her as a moron. She hadn't even had that much wine! A bit over a bottle - okay, that was a lot.

Biting her lip, Anna reached for her phone. The text from Hans still sat unopened. Taking a deep breath, she typed out a message and hit send before she could think too hard about it.

_**Yeah, that'd be great. Call me tomorrow?**_

She tossed her phone into the covers and rolled over. Whatever.


	3. Chapter 3

Kristoff woke up groggily, rolling over and landing on something hard. Grimacing, he felt around for the offending object and pulled out a phone in a pink glitter case. Anna's. He moved to put it on the nightstand, but that motion lit it up and Kristoff saw a text from a 'Hans 3';

_**Pleasant dreams. I'll call you tomorrow at nine a.m., beloved. **_

His heart dropped into his stomach. Oh, this was worse than he thought. He really wanted to cry. Which was saying something, because he almost never did. He got sad just like any other person, but he usually just stuffed it down and got on with his day. He didn't like dealing with those feelings, so he usually didn't. But this was different. Because this time, he'd really let himself hope that things could work out in his favor.

He didn't think he was reading too much into things or making signals up in his head - Anna looked at him different, she touched him more, and he was fairly certain she had tried to have sex with him not even eight hours ago. He thought that, somehow, she had liked him back.

Clearly, that was not the case. He was just a distraction for her rough patch with Hans. They were still talking, maybe even this whole time, and would probably get back together. Of course. Hans was an idiot, but he wasn't blind.

Kristoff felt like a moron, like some lovesick jackass that had invented this whole relationship and really let himself cling onto it. Who did that? She hadn't said anything close to 'I like you', he hadn't asked her anything about her feelings. There was no communication, only easily-misinterpreted signals. Clearly.

She just needed a weird favor, and he screwed it up. This was his karmatic price. This is what he got for thinking that he could will her into loving him, that if he bade his time and hoped and thought then someone she'd pick up on it and fall as easily as he had.

It was a stupid thought, and he was a stupid man.

Anna was kind and trusting and friendly. She would've done this for any of her other friends, he was sure, so it made sense that she assumed he would do it for her. Maybe he was the only guy friend that wasn't busy that weekend. He didn't ask for details, instead getting all caught up in the excitement of the invitation.

Kristoff rolled to his side, putting his back to Anna. She didn't stir. If nothing else, at least he found out this way. That was a small mercy. It would've been a thousand times worse if he had confessed his feelings, or tried to make a move, and be thoroughly rejected. He wasn't sure if he'd ever get over that.

He felt her moving next to him. The morning was here, and it was time to face all that that entailed.

...

Anna was so distracted by her own feelings that she didn't even notice how quiet Kristoff was being. She woke up earlier than usual - eight a.m. - to see that he was already up, and climbed over him. Anna wished him a good morning and he mumbled the greeting back, and she ducked into the bathroom to wash up. She closed the door and looked into the mirror, taking this small moment of silent peace to think about what she had to do next.

Anna had already poured everything she had into Elsa's lap; all her secrets, vulnerabilities, and worst fears. This would make this still difficult to admit, but no longer impossible - Hans had contacted her, and she had texted him back. Anna ran these two truths through her head as she brushed her hair and braided it into two plaits. She didn't know anything else for sure. Every other thought swirled about her head and refused to settle into something concrete.

She hoped talking to Elsa would help. If nothing else, talking about things helped just generally. Anna walked softly upstairs to Elsa's room, hoping her sister was up. Elsa was always an early riser, so it was possible. Perhaps even likely.

"Elsa?" she said, knocking on the door.

She felt suddenly nervous doing it. How many times, back in Massachusetts, had she knocked on Elsa's door, only to receive a 'go away', 'not now', or no response at all? It made her want to retract the knock and draw up within herself.

"Come in."

Anna had to remind herself that this was part of healing. That the desire to be known had to overcome the fears of being safe. That she'd have to renew her vulnerability, though she'd overspent it already. She had to trust that the rewards were worth it.

Anna stepped into Elsa's room and closed the door behind her. "Hans, the real Hans, texted me."

Elsa put down the papers she was looking at. "And he - he hasn't done that for some time, has he?"

Anna shook her head vigorously. "After we broke up - okay, I call it that cause that's easier. It wasn't even really a break up. We dated for the week and then he ghosted me. I texted him and DM'd him and contacted him on multiple platforms - if he was anything better than stranded on a desert island, he saw that I contacted him - and he didn't respond. He had his read receipts turned off, I think, so I never saw a notification that he saw. But, like, he wouldn't look at what I DM'd him on Instagram but he'd still post his own pictures? I'm not stupid."

"No, yeah. He definitely saw." Elsa nodded, resting her cheek on her hand and furrowing her brow.

"So why did he text me?" Anna said, waving the phone.

"What'd he say?" Elsa held out her hand. She read through the texts, and scrolled up to see a dozen unanswered, semi-casual messages from Anna. She handed back the phone. "And he hadn't said _anything_ before that?"

"Not a text, not a comment, not even an Instagram like."

"Did you do anything different, do you think?" Elsa asked.

"Not to my knowledge." Anna shook her head.

"Okay, that is weird." Elsa nodded. "Do you..._want_ to talk to him?"

Anna hadn't even really _thought_ about that. "...I don't know."

"Well, that seems important" Elsa said quietly. "Based on your email, I don't think you 'wouldn't know' six months ago."

Anna paused. "I suppose that's true. Six months ago I was still upset that he wasn't contacting me."

"What changed about that?"

"Time, mostly." Anna said. "At first I was upset that I was ignored and it was just, you know, another person that couldn't love me-"

"Anna-"

"-but in time I saw that it didn't change anything. That I did have that excitement with him, and I've had it before him, and I'll probably get it again. I'd hang out with Gerda and Kai when either of them were around, and I saw Kristoff all the time. So in time the hole he ripped out of my life just...filled. The space I made for him closed."

"And now he's back."

"I'm kind of...curious to know what he wants, admittedly." Anna grabbed her arm.

"That makes sense." Elsa nodded. "What about Kristoff?"

"What about him?" Anna said quickly. "We're not actually dating. He knows this isn't real."

Elsa laughed. "Do you?"

"What?" Anna said, crossing her arms. "Of course I do! It was my idea!"

"You know I don't mean like that." Elsa said lovingly. "I'm sorry for teasing. Obviously you like him as a person, and it can be just that and be fine! But you just...are very touchy with him, and he is with you. And there's a certain way he looks at you so I'm fairly sure this isn't _entirely_ fake to _him…_"

Anna felt her heart speed up. "What do you mean?" she asked, trying to keep her heart rate steady.

"Well I was trashed the night we dyed your hair stripe - it looks good in your braid, by the way-"

"Thanks!"

"-But the way he was looking at you, and how he found the whole thing funny and even charming, and he played along and let you go through his phone and held onto you. And beyond that he's always by you, or looking at you. When you walk out of the room he watches you leave. If you hadn't described an entirely different person in that email, I probably would've believed that you two were dating."

"Really?"

"Really." Elsa promised. "I'm being genuine. It'd be mean to exaggerate about a thing like this. But that's just what I've noticed. What do you _feel_?"

"I don't want to default into anyone." Anna said. "Especially him."

"Why especially?" Elsa smiled a little.

Anna paused, her mouth hanging open for a second. "Because. Just because."

"Because why?"

"I can't...lose him to something stupid like this. I love him." Anna said.

Elsa gasped.

"Not like that! I don't think so, anyway. I don't think I've ever been in _love_. Just...infatuated. A lot." she shrugged. "But he's the best man I know, probably the best one I've ever met. I don't want to lose him."

"That makes sense." Elsa said. "And it's certainly prudent. But is it what you want?"

"I don't know anything right now." Anna admitted. "I - okay, I'll be honest with you. When we were drinking last night the way that Kristoff was just, I don't know, _existing_ was so overwhelming. I've never wanted to kiss someone so badly in my _life_."

"Did you…?" Elsa grinned.

"I tried to...I'm pretty sure." Anna shrugged. "I have clear memories of us talking, starting to drink, and then I sort of brown out and come back in the bathroom and then come back in the guest room and I was trying to kiss him but he sort of...pushed me away."

"He might have just not wanted to take advantage of you while you were drunk." Elsa suggested.

"Or maybe he finds me repulsive and hates me."

"Yes, I suppose that's equally likely." Elsa rolled her eyes. "If you like him you should say something."

"Why?"

Elsa laughed. "Because there's no other way he'll find out. Kristoff is smart, but he's a little bit oblivious about you." _As I think you are with him._

…

"Kristoff!" Anna came bounding down the stairs.

He looked up from his phone - he'd been reading the paper. Never the thing to put him in a good mood, but it's not like he was one anyway.

"Yeah?" he said, a little flatly.

"You feel okay?" his tone was strange. He usually answered with more of a smile, like there wasn't a joke he'd yet told. He'd been in high spirits this whole weekend. She wished she didn't notice these things. She wondered if it was in her head and, if so, to what extent?

"I'm fine." He said, tone still unchanged.

"What are you up to?" she asked half-hopping into the room.

"Nothing." he locked his phone and stretched. "Just reading the news."

"Anything exciting?"

"Not in a good way."

"Sounds about right." Anna crossed her arms. "What do you want to do today?"

"I don't know, did you have plans?"

"Not really."

"Okay, well we can just hang out." Kristoff suggested. "Or you can do whatever you need to do, you don't have to babysit me."

_Was she smothering him?_ "Oh, yeah, sure. You're an adult, you can do whatever you want."

"And it is the 23rd." Kristoff continued. "So it'd probably be best for me to head back tomorrow. I'd like to spend Christmas with my family." he wanted to invite her, but she and Elsa probably had plans, maybe even with Hans. He'd hate to infringe on that. _Okay, that was bitter._

"Oh! Oh, yeah. Of course. I had forgotten. Sorry. Yeah, of course, we'll head back then."

"You can stay with Elsa, if you all have plans." Kristoff said. "I mean, of course I'll take you back if you want. But you don't have to go back just since I'm going back."

"Okay." Anna nodded, feeling uncomfortable. Oh, God, she'd really fucked everything up last night, huh?

Maybe Elsa was right about the past few days - maybe he had shown some interest in her, but she must've killed it all last night by crawling all over him and messily grabbing his phone and invading his space. Kristoff was private! She'd probably embarrassed him and now he was uncomfortable around him.

And she had tried to kiss him! No, worse, she'd tried to sleep with him. Hopefully he at least didn't pick up on the latter part. But with her luck, she probably proposed to him when she was blacked out.

"I'm gonna go lie down for a bit." Anna said quickly.

"Okay." Kristoff nodded. "Let me know, uh, if you want to do anything."

"Okay, will do!" Anna said quickly, walking out of the room.

If only she could've just kept her mouth shut!

...

Hans called - two hours late. But he called. Anna wasn't yet sure which part was more important. Her instincts said one thing, her kind heart said another. She ducked into a room upstairs. She was alone when he called, but she didn't want Kristoff to overhear. She refused to ruminate on why that might be important to her.

"Hans." Anna breathed, suddenly feeling nauseous.

"Anna, it's so lovely to hear your voice again."

"Thanks, uh, yeah. You too." she said quickly. _That sounded stupid, didn't it?_ "Why are you - why are you calling?"

"Oh, I miss you Anna." he said it so easily, like it wasn't what she'd been praying to hear for months. Like it was something she herself would ever be able to call and say.

"Yeah?" Anna challenged. "Just now? You didn't miss me when I was texting you before?"

There was a pause, and Hans sighed before continuing. "I really wish you hadn't brought that up."

Her heart dropped into his stomach. He sounded annoyed. Had she come on too strong? She should've waited. He probably had things to say and she threw him all out of order and that was certainly rude of her!

"One of my brothers was in a car accident, the week after we started seeing each other." Hans said, matter-of-factly. "I don't like talking about it too much. He's fine now, don't worry, but it was very scary when it happened. Those few weeks he was in the hospital passed in a blur of surgery and coordinating and calling the insurance company. It was really hellish."

"I'm so sorry." Anna said, putting a hand to her cheek. "That that happened. For asking at all. I'm really super sorry."

"You didn't know." Hans hummed. "But after all that time passed and my life got back on track, I realized how much time had passed between when we'd gone out and when I'd last texted you. I was mortified, I'm sure you'll be glad to hear."

"I'm not glad to hear that." Anna said sincerely.

"Well, naturally I figured I'd just blown my chance with you." Han paused again, letting the silence wash over Anna. "But I couldn't stop thinking about you. And hearing you now...now I'm not so sure."

Anna wrapped a protective arm around herself instinctually. "I don't know, Hans. I'm really sorry that happened to your brother and everything but I texted you, like, dozens of times. And called. I felt insane after a while. And all of these months have passed…"

"Months that I've been pining for you, believe me. Won't you give me a second chance, Anna?"

"I...I really don't know, Hans."

"You don't have to decide today." He was speaking so softly to her, like she was a child. "Tell me about your day. What are you doing?"

"I'm at Elsa's right now."

"Your sister, right?"

_He remembered! _"Yeah! She lives up in Maine."

"Oh really? Where in Maine? I'm very familiar with the state - I've got family there myself."

_Um, I don't know entirely. Kristoff drove. _"I'm blanking on the name of the town."

"Just share your location with me, I'm curious."

"Uh, okay." Anna put him on speaker and shared her location with 'Hans 3'. Opening his contact info she hesitated, but deleted the heart. He could earn it back later, but he didn't have it now. She clicked 'share location' and tapped back into the call.

"Oh, she's pretty tucked in the mountains!" Hans exclaimed. "One of my brothers lives about two towns over. Very interesting. Visiting for the holidays?"

"Yeah, or close to it. Listen, Hans-"

"This has been lovely, Anna, really, but I do have to run. My mornings are sometimes free but my afternoon's seldom are. I wish we'd talked sooner."

_He was the one who called late!_ "Wait, you're-"

"We'll have to do this again sometime, Anna. Have a good day. I do adore you."

He hung up, the action of which was amplified by the speakerphone.

Anna tossed the phone onto the bed, wrapping her arms around herself.

…

There was snow on the ground but the skies were clear - the weather Kristoff usually liked the most. He wasn't in a mood to truly enjoy it, but he figured it'd be good for him to go outside. Clear his head.

He had barely talked to Anna all day, and only semi-intentionally. She was talking with her sister in the morning, and then she didn't come downstairs for breakfast or lunch. But he didn't seek her out, or call for her. He didn't want to see her, not right now, because he didn't know what to say. He felt awkward and like he'd overstayed his welcome. He was now hyperconscious of boundaries, and he wondered if he'd crossed any. So he sent Anna a text.

_**I'm going on a walk, I'll be back in a bit. **_

She didn't respond. That was fine, he just didn't want her to worry. He knew that she would if he just up and disappeared. Anna didn't like not knowing.

He was being a baby. Moping, feeling sorry for himself. He was rude to her this morning, unforgivably so. No, that was dramatic too. But he needed to apologize. He sighed and ran his hand through his hair. He needed a bit more time to be dramatic, too.

But he loved her; and all of this stemmed from that. He had wanted her to be happy with him, but the most important thing was that she was happy.

He knew Hans was an asshole, and it seemed like he'd already treated Anna poorly. But Anna was an adult and she knew more about Hans than he did. If they were still talking, Hans must have done something right. Maybe he had changed, or maybe the situation was more complicated than he understood. Kristoff could still envy Hans a little - that was still healthy, right? But he'd let Anna make the choices that were right for her. He trusted her.

Kristoff shook his head, rounding out the path. He'd support her, since this was what she wanted. Who she wanted. They had a fun weekend, but they'd had fun before. They'd do something else, something less straining on his heart, next time. Maybe just see a movie. She was a good friend before all of this, she'd be a good friend after. And Kristoff would support her personal choices, because that's what friends did.

And after the holidays, when they were back in Massachusetts, he'd work on actually getting over her.

...

_**Come upstairs!**_

_**Please!**_

_**As soon as you can thank you!**_

_**Like no rush but also if you could come right now that would be ideal!**_

Elsa looked down at her phone at the (apparently) urgent texts from her sister, sent within a minute of each other.

_**On my way up.**_

She walked upstairs and knocked on the door of the study. "Anna, are you still in here?"

Anna flung the door open, eyes wide. "He called."

"Hans?"

"Yes."

"You guys talked for two hours?"

"No, God, like fifteen minutes."

"Didn't he say he'd call at 9:00?"

Anna rolled her eyes. "He called late."

"Okay, well, what'd he say?"

Anna bit her lip. "It felt like a fever dream, honestly. He said his brother got into a car wreck and he got distracted for a few weeks."

"Oh my God!"

"His brother's okay." Anna nodded. "And then he said he was just distracted, and then time passed by, and then he was, like, embarrassed to call after so long."

"So what changed?"

"He didn't say."

Elsa pursed her lips. "Okay, so I understand the car wreck part. Obviously he'd prioritize that. So if he had just contacted you after a couple of weeks, I'd think nothing of it."

"Right, I agree."

"But it's been a year, Anna. And you've been reaching out to him beyond just a few weeks after you last saw each other."

Anna nodded. "That's true."

"It wouldn't have been hard for him to shoot you a text and say 'hey, sorry, I'm overwhelmed right now. I'll call you in a couple weeks when things calm down'. It would've taken thirty seconds. He didn't even need to tell you exactly what happened."

"Yeah!" Anna agreed. "I would've understood. And he had no reason to assume that I wouldn't have."

"Anna, he didn't text you because he didn't want to. He had the time, he had the ability. If he had wanted to actually have any sort of a relationship with you in the past year, even if it was casual, he could've said something."

"He could've!" Anna agreed. "I felt like my brain was melting the entire time he was talking to me just now. I honestly felt like I was the one who'd done something wrong the entire time he was talking to me."

"What?!"

"And, like, I'd understand if he thought I was being too clingy. Because, well, I kind of was. I should've stopped after a couple texts, when it was clear he wasn't going to respond." Anna crossed his arms. "But he made it seem like it was rude of me to even ask why it'd been a year since he contacted me out of nowhere."

"That's a fair question!" Elsa affirmed.

"Like you said! It was a year! He had the thirty seconds to send a text - _months_ ago!" Anna said angrily.

"Right!"

"Fuck him!"

"Fuck him!"

Anna balled her hands up into fists. "I don't want to do this anymore, Elsa. I don't want his attention."

"You don't have to give him yours." Elsa smiled.

Anna put both her hands to her cheeks. "That feels so good to hear."

…

Kristoff and Anna were both uncomfortable going to bed that night. The first night that they were here was awkward in its own way, but both had the disguise of covering up their feelings and letting new closeness bloom. The first night was pushing forward. The awkwardness of unresolved emotions, forced forward with their most jagged edges out, made them both shy. They did not voice these thoughts. They didn't need to.

Kristoff changed in the bathroom, as he usually did, and Anna changed quickly outside. When he came out, she hopped in to wash her face and brush her teeth. He hadn't gotten into bed yet. _Probably to prevent me from crawling all over him _she thought sadly. He was just standing up, looking through a book he brought, shirtless.

Anna brushed her teeth slowly, peeking out at him from the doorway. She incorrectly thought he hadn't noticed her watching him.

She wanted to touch him again, to run her hand up his back muscles and feel the indent between his shoulder blades. She remembered how his hands we so large they curved around the niche of her waist and almost met her spine. He had _such_ nice arms. She wanted him to powerslam her through a window. Or something.

Anna ducked back into the bathroom and spat out the toothpaste, looking at herself in the mirror. She'd fucked up so much, it was really in her best interest to stop thinking of him in this way

She wanted him to stride over, scoop her up, and kiss her hard. He'd be able to pick her up so easily - she wasn't that large, and he was so strong. She bit her lip wondering what it'd feel like for her to kiss him. Anna wondered if she'd ever find out. But she washed her face, scrubbing harder than she needed to, and hopped into bed.

As soon as she was cuddled up on her side, Kristoff got in. He didn't touch her. The bed wasn't large, so he was close, but he didn't reach for her or open his arm in a way that would allow her to roll in. Anna bit her lip, feeling embarrassed. She didn't know how to read these signs - how much of his distance was real, and how much was she imagining? Was it possible for her to ask without dying of embarrassment?

He rolled to his stomach and turned his face from her. Anna sighed, watching him as his breathing slowed and he fell asleep. Feeling regret and desire building in the pit of her stomach, Anna reached out for him and gently laid her hand on his back, settling into her pillow, on her side, and falling asleep.

Kristoff was not asleep, and felt her gentle touch. Sighing and feeling more at peace, he wondered how he'd even get over losing this feeling forever. Still, he enjoyed the comfort in the little share he had been allotted, and eventually slipped into sleep.

…

Anna woke up the next morning, realizing that she'd entirely folded herself into Kristoff as she slept. Thankfully, he wasn't awake. She sat up and looked down at him as he slept. He really was very beautiful. No - more importantly - he was visually interesting. She liked his strong chin and big nose and small freckles and messy hair. His wide shoulders and the scar on his left arm that she'd never asked about. The light pink cut on his lower back, still fresh.

She sighed and moved to crawl over him, but he groaned and wrapped an arm around her, still too sleepy to think straight. Anna acquiesced, rolling back into him.

"Oh, sorry." he said, sitting back up and rubbing his eyes. "I didn't mean to grab you."

"It's okay." Anna said. He removed his arm, but she didn't scooch back.

"What does your family do for Christmas?" Anna asked Kristoff, putting her chin on her arm.

"Good morning to you, too."

"Good morning." she said.

"SInce when are you a morning person?" he groaned. "It's technically early."

"I don't know. This whole trip has been weird." Anna said - vague, but honest. "But I'm just curious."

"Well, I have a lot of young cousins." Kristoff said, sitting up and settling back on his elbow. "So Christmas is mostly about them. We open presents and make a large meal and everyone eats and drinks and at some point people start telling stories." he snorted. "Bulda gets two glasses of eggnog in her and she brings out the photo albums."

Anna beamed. "Please let me see the photo albums."

"Oh, you are never seeing the photo albums." Kristoff said, looking away. "Do you have plans with Elsa?"

"God, I didn't even really think about Christmas." Anna said. "I need to go get her a gift, at least."

"Is there anyone else you spend Christmas with?" Kristoff asked, still not looking at her. "Like Hans?"

"What?" Anna asked, genuinely incredulous. "Why on earth would I spend Christmas with Hans? Anything with Hans?"

Kristoff tried to quickly think of a lie, some way to play this off. But he wasn't a good liar, never was. So the truth came out before he could stop it. "I accidently saw a message from him on your phone this morning."

Anna's heart dropped into her stomach. She really wished he hadn't seen that.

"He texted me out of nowhere yesterday." Anna said. "He wanted to talk, and I wanted answers. He called me this morning."

Oh. Kristoff felt relief and regret all in the same breath. It wasn't as bad as he thought. But now he looked like an insecure idiot. The prices we must pay, he supposed. "Oh. Uh, sorry."

"Why do you care, though?" Anna pressed, leaning in on him.

Kristoff got caught off guard by her bright blue eyes, she was still so close, she still smelled so good, even if the strawberry scent had faded - he still couldn't lie. But he didn't have to tell the whole truth. "I think he's an asshole." he said. "You're too good for him."

Anna smiled a little.

"I was hoping you weren't going to give him a second chance."

"That's very kind of you." she said, settling back a little.

"Yeah, they're giving me a Peace Prize I think."

"Well earned." Anna nodded, smiling up at him.

"I'll go make breakfast." Kristoff said, rising up and grabbing another t-shirt. If he stayed in this conversation any longer he'd start saying things he regretted.

"Hey!" Anna exclaimed. "You had another t-shirt the whole time?"

Kristoff grinned at her. "Would you have really wanted me to wear it?"

"Maybe! Slut!" Anna teased, throwing a pillow at him.

"Look, say what you want, but you were the one ogling me from the bathroom yesterday."

"How could you possibly know that?"

"Your eyes practically burned through my skin." Kristoff said overdramatically.

"Don't you have pancakes to make?!" Anna said, throwing the other pillow.

"I'd conserve ammo. You'll need something else to throw if I burn them."

"I'll just throw the pancakes!"

"Oh, good. As long as there's a contingency plan." Kristoff said, tossing a pillow gently at her. "But just in case."

Anna clutched the pillow to her stomach and watched him leave, sighing and leaning against the backboard. She looked down for a second, before a notification caught her attention.

Anna's phone lit up. It was Hans, calling her.

Yes, it was true that six months ago this would've sent her into a fit of elation. Eight months ago she would've flung herself onto her phone to answer it. Ten months ago she would've excitedly gabbed to him all day. But time had passed and the excitement...wasn't there. There was no desire, even. She was not only hesitant to talk to him, she just didn't want to.

Not even to be mean to him. Not even to get answers; to find out why ten months of his life was so unexplainably hectic he didn't have even a minute to think of her. She didn't want to rub it in his face that she was fine; she'd moved on without him. Anna felt fine. She was content with where she was in life - and she didn't want to share this with Hans.

She picked up the phone and stared at the plain 'Hans' as it lit up her phone and disappeared after a minute. She then unlocked her phone, opened his contact, and blocked his number.

…

"No, winter is obviously the best season." Kristoff said, leaning back and tucking his hands behind his head. Anna almost gave in when she saw how good his arm muscles looked when he did that.

The three sat at the dining room table, drinking coffee (tea in Anna's case, she didn't need any more caffeine) and eating blueberry pancakes courtesy of Kristoff. Elsa was the only one fully dressed. The breakfast had turned into a leisurely affair. Upon hearing of Kristoff's breakfast ambitions, Elsa insisted on going out to the store to get ingredients for proper batter instead of just the mix and water, and hash browns, and yogurt. Kristoff certainly wasn't going to say no - it'd be the nicest breakfast he'd had in a while. After an hour out at the shop, she came back and he cooked for them both. Anna had sat in his oversized t-shirt (which did not escape Elsa) on a stool by the kitchen counter, watching him cook and asking questions. The rest of the house was quiet, until Elsa put on a classical playlist.

They'd sat down to eat nearly two hours ago after all that. Kristoff would get up intermittently to make more pancakes as they (mostly Anna) kept eating. The conversation between the three of them fell into an ease it had not had before. Elsa and Kristoff found similarities in their disposition and things that they liked. Anna wondered if there was just a certain kind of person she was predisposed to get on with. Eventually, the discussion of winter came up - as it as a strong favorite of both Elsa and Kristoff. She couldn't let them have this one.

"It's spring!" she doubled down. "Everything comes alive again, and things are warm without being uncomfortable, and growing. We get fresh produce again!"

"No, Kristoff is right." Elsa said. "These are good pancakes, by the way."

"Thank you, Elsa. You are very wise and smart." Kristoff smiled at her.

"You are also smart and wise." she nodded.

"We are the smartest and wisest people here, because we know there is nothing better than winter."

"So very right."

"These pancakes were _made_ with blueberries that you wouldn't even have if it weren't for spring!" Anna said. "If it was frozen all the time we wouldn't have any fruit! Or wheat to make the flour!"

"But winter is beautiful, and quiet, and simple. There's nothing like the mountains with fresh snow. Nothing like it." Kristoff sighed, looking over at Anna and smiling.

"And you can stay inside and just wrap up in a blanket with a cup of cocoa." Elsa sighed. "And with the snow falling down outside - gorgeous. Peaceful."

"But you can be warm all the time in spring!" Anna said, defining each word with a chop of her hand on the table. "AND Kristoff - " she turned to face him. "You work in deliveries! Driving in snow is a thousand times worse than driving when the roads are clear!"

"Not true in the slightest!" he said. "When it's snowy, especially when we're in the middle of a snowstorm, everyone stays off the roads unless they _have_ to be on them. When it's warm everyone's going places and piling into their cars and they don't want to walk because it's too hot so they crank up the AC and get in my way."

"But driving in the snow is dangerous!"

"Driving in general is dangerous. But I'm good at driving and I'm not more at risk in the spring or the winter." Kristoff insisted.

"In the spring you could just ride a horse."

"In the winter I could ride a horse!" Kristoff laughed. "Is that the standard now? Ease of horse access?"

"Yes, sorry you're behind the times."

"They have horse drawn sleighs just for Christmastime." Elsa said. "Can't get that in spring."

"Wait, here?"

"Are you going to give up that easily?" Kristoff teased.

"Answer the horse question." Anna turned to look at Elsa.

"Yep, about a twenty minute drive away. There's a park." Elsa took a sip of her coffee.

"Can we go?"

"If you'd like."

Anna squealed a little, turning to Kristoff. "You'll come right?"

"If you want me to." he said, a little gently.

"Yeah, of course!" she said. "We could get matching scarves."

"On second thought-"

"No backsies!"

Elsa's eye caught the light of Anna's phone lighting up, making Anna look back over to see the notification. It was a text;

_**Come outside **_

Anna looked down at her phone, confused. Was this a lighthearted 'come outside!' or a menacing 'come outside.'? Would it kill people to use emojis? She couldn't understand the tone of the message, but that confusion was overshadowed by the fact that the message was sent by _Hans_, of all people. What could possibly be outside that he'd know about?

"What's wrong?" Elsa asked.

"Look at this." Anna said, sliding her phone to her sister and getting up from the table.

She slipped on her shoes to go find out. Walking out she saw a sleek silver car with Hans standing on the outside, sliding aviator sunglasses to the top of his head. "Anna!" he said, smiling at her.

_He_ was _here_?

"Hans?" Anna said, her mouth literally dropping open. "What're you doing here?" It wasn't a question as much as it was a demand.

"Was in the area." He said it casually, like showing up unannounced in a whole different state was normal. He furrowed his brow. "Anna, you literally shared your location with me."

"Yeah, because you wanted to see what town I was in, not because it was an invitation!" Anna said angrily, feeling tears spring up to her eyes. She'd been ignored by him for a year and once she's finally in a place to remove him from her life, he does _this_?

It was _invasive_, it was _weird_, it was - above all! - **unwanted**.

"If you didn't want me in your life, why'd you answer the phone?" he said, voice calm and flat.

"I blocked your number!"

"Don't be a child, Anna. Let's talk like adults. Like old times, remember?"

"I remember you ignoring me!" Anna said. "Once you - once you got what you wanted you just took off!"

Hans rolled his eyes. "I know that wasn't your first one night stand Anna. Don't act like some maiden who just lost her virtue."

"What a weird thing to say!" she wrinkled her nose. "And that's not why I was upset! If that's all you wanted you should've told me, and then I could at least have decided with all the facts!"

"Anna, I came here because I care about you." Hans insisted.

"Prove it!" she insisted, a few tears starting to spill.

"I drove up to Maine to see you - what else could you possibly want?" he said. "Just get in the car. We can go get a coffee or something, talk for a bit. See what happens."

Anna was confused, and her head was spinning. What did he want? Was this really an attempt to woo her back? Did he want to sleep with her again? Or was he just messing with her? She felt gross and violated even though he wasn't even close enough to touch her. Just the fact that he was here, on her sisters house, uninvited, unwanted was enough to make her want to move Elsa out in the dead of night.

Hans was growing visibly more frustrated at Anna's lack of cooperation. Though he would have called it insolence.

"Look, I drove all the way up here - it's a very long drive! - just for you, so you better get in the car, or else-"

"Or else what?" Kristoff stepped out of the house, pulling a sweater over his head. His eyes were narrowed and set on Hans. He pushed up the sleeves of the sweater.

"Who is this?" Hans asked, incredulous.

"Answer the question, first. You said 'or else'. What's your threat, exactly?"

"I just came all the way up here to get my girlfriend, and you're being very frustrating-"

"You still aren't answering the question." Kristoff walked towards him, slowly, his eyes never breaking contact with Hans'. This clearly unnerved Hans, who staggered back a few half-steps as he realized exactly how much bigger Kristoff was than him. "Or. Else. _What_?"

"Look, I don't think you want to find out." Hans narrowed his eyes.

"I'm not your girlfriend, you creep!" Anna yelled, snapping back into the situation and running up to him.

"Interesting." Kristoff said, taking another step closer to Hans. "So you show up at the house of a woman who's not your girlfriend, start upsetting her, and try to badger her into getting her into your car. That doesn't sound like very ideal behavior. Even legal, frankly."

"If you're threatening me, I will have no choice but to retaliate!" Hans insisted, rolling up his sleeves.

"I believe _you_ were the one issuing threats. Why don't you go ahead and finish what you were saying?" Kristoff offered.

With a grunt, Hans swung and punched Kristoff in the nose. Hans stood, fist still clenched, grimaning up at Kristoff. "Ha! Now I've subdued you, you big brute."

Kristoff pinched and released the bridge of his nose and rolled his shoulders back. "No, mostly you've just made me more angry."

Kristoff grabbed Hans by the front of his shirt and lifted him up, slamming him against a tree. "How fucking weird is it, that you just think you can show up and, what, carry her off?"

Hans struck back at Kristoff, but if it hurt him, Kristoff wasn't showing it.

"I know you weren't invited, so you better leave before I kick you out myself."

"Put me down, you asshole!" Hans said.

Kristoff picked him up a little higher and slammed his back against a tree.

"If you paralyze me I will sue the shit out of you!"

Kristoff chuckled a little. "So is your father a lawyer, or does he just have one on retainer?"

"I have my own!"

"Wow." Kristoff said mockingly.

"You're an idiot for trying to play a big man for that whore!" Hans spat looking at Anna.

Kristoff's hands tightened, his head turning slightly. "_What_ did you say?"

"I'm sure she hasn't told you, probably wanted to keep your interest." Hans laughed cruelly. "I said a few nice things to her and she fell into bed with me. I call her up a year later, make up some sob story, and she's ready to do it again!"

"You made up your brother getting in a car crash?" Anna yelled, incensed.

"Okay." Kristoff said, his voice barely containing the anger he felt. "Okay." he lifted Hans up and flung him onto the ground.

Hans landed with a thud, exclaiming in pain.

"You wanna fight? We can fight." Kristoff said.

"W-what?" Hans sputtered, scrambling to his feet.

"You don't talk that way, especially not about her, _especially_ not to me, unless you want to fight. So swing. I'll give you the first hit."

Steeling his resolve, Hans pulled back his fist and swung for Kristoff's chest.

Kristoff didn't even react, like he had hardly felt it at all. "My turn." He said simply, and punched Hans right in the face.

Hans swung at Kristoff again but Kristoff blocked the punch and swung for Hans' stomach, causing him to double over. Kristoff swung a right hook at Hans' jaw, landing with a crack.

Anna stood on the edge of this all, sort of wanting to jump in, sort of wanting to watch. She should tell them to stop. That'd be the mature thing to do, right? Having a boy defend your honor was so high school, so nineteenth century. But still...it was kind of fun. And Kristoff was certainly holding his own.

"You know," Elsa said, stepping close behind Anna and wrapping her cardigan closer. "I can't say I would've predicted that this was how the day was going to go, but I'm certainly not surprised."

Anna smiled a little. "Can't say I am either."

"Kristoff might kill him, though. I really don't want to deal with that on Christmas Eve." Elsa added, nudging Anna.

Kristoff picked up Hans again as Hans swung at him, landing a few punches, but none strong enough to cause Kristoff to react significantly.

"Leave." Kristoff said simply, dropping Hans.

"Who do you think you are?" Hans said angrily, staggering back when Kristoff dropped him.

"I'm her fucking fiance." Kristoff said, pushing him back. "And I don't want to see you around her again."

…

"Kristoff, that was-" Anna bobbed excitedly.

'I'm sorry." He said.

They'd walked back inside the house. Hans drove off in an embarrassed fury, certainly worse for wear physically, and with in ego in worse shape. Elsa retreated upstairs to give Kristoff and Anna some privacy, which they both wanted so desperately they didn't even notice her leave.

"What?" Anna shook her head.

"I got ahead of myself, I know. He's just such a fucking-." Kristoff raised his hand. "I don't really have the words for it anymore. I got most of it out while I was hitting him."

"Kristoff." Anna said slowly, stepping closer to him.

"I know I shouldn't have said that I was your fiance but, I don't know, it just felt like the right thing to say-"

"Kristoff." she took another step closer, looking up at him.

"And it's just so goddamn reckless of him to think that he can come up here and even talk to you, after everything that he did-"

"Kristoff."

"What?-"

Anna flung her arms around his neck and pulled herself up to kiss him. He froze for just a second, before wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her up against him, as tightly as he could manage. He splayed a hand out across her back and one on her waist, squeezing her tightly. They broke apart after a minute, breathing heavily but still touching.

"I loved that, really, you should do it again." Anna joked.

"The beating Hans up or the kissing you?" Kristoff asked, leaning his forehead against hers, smiling a little.

"Both." she breathed before he brought his lips down to meet hers once more.

Anna literally couldn't believe she'd been missing out on this for so long. She thought that last night she had never wanted to kiss him more, but she was wrong. Now was the most she'd ever wanted him - and she _was_ kissing him! She bounced up on her toes and hugged him tightly to her, breaking apart only to kiss his cheeks, his nose, all over his face.

"If this was all it took I would've beat your ex-boyfriend up eons ago." Kristoff laughed.

Anna hopped up, wrapping her legs around his waist as he grabbed her. "It's not that!" she said. "I mean, that was exciting, but it's not that. It's you!"

Kristoff smiled a little, she barely noticed, but leaned back in to kiss her. She easily twined her arms around him, running her hands through his hair before relaxing. It felt so good to be holding her closely, it was worth the waiting, worth the distance, worth the confusion. It was worth it, because she was worth it.

He smiled at her. "You're not mad?"

"Why on earth would I be mad?" Anna said, wrapping her arms around him. "I'm pretty sure I've had that exact daydream."

"Exact?" Kristoff raised an eyebrow.

Anna got a little flustered. "I mean, I didn't - well, I did, um. I've _thought_ about you before, sometimes."

"Really?" Kristoff pressed, half-grinning.

"Shut up!" Anna looked away.

"I've dreamed about you a lot." Kristoff said, leaning in to kiss her jawline.

"Oh…" Anna sighed.

"A _lot_, a lot." He admitted.

"I don't think I have a choice, you know. I've noticed it more and more throughout our friendship, but I guess I accepted it more on this trip. I always would wonder what you were thinking, or what you thought of things. Or what you think of me." Anna laughed. "I think it's been you longer than I've wanted to admit. Is it...it it the same for you?"

"Sort of." Kristoff shrugged. "It's been you for as long as I've known you, essentially. But I didn't fall into it. I love you on purpose."

Anna was overcome by all of this. On purpose, on purpose, he loved her on _purpose_. In a world of dazzling flings and infatuations, he chose to renew and maintain a love for her even when he wasn't getting anything out of it. Wait. He _loved_ her?

"You love me?" Anna asked.

Kristoff turned bright red when he realized exactly what he said. "In a very normal and not too-serious-too-fast way. In whatever way makes it not weird that I said it after our first kiss."

"We're at _least_ on our sixteenth kiss." Anna smiled.

Kristoff groaned.

"You've known me for a while, Kristoff." Anna smiled. "It is, you know, possible. I'm not scared by it."

"Good," he laughed a bit, in relief. "But I wanted it to be more...romantic than that."

"You've thought about this?"

"I am going to die right now."

"Don't be embarrassed!" Anna insisted, grabbing his arm.

"I am going to throw myself from the window."

"Don't leave like that!"

"You can join."

"No suicide pacts!"

Kristoff looked over at her. She took in a sharp breath of air at the intensity. "I do love you." he said. The blush still crept up in his cheeks. She found it cute. "You don't have to say it back. It doesn't change anything."

Anna kissed his cheek. "You're the best man I know. I can say that for sure."

…

After a bit, Elsa came back downstairs. The sun was starting to set and if they wanted to take a sleigh ride, they should probably go soon. The three of them drove down to the park where the sleighs were waiting.

"How'd you know about this?" Anna asked.

The sleighs were huge and red and shining, decorated with wreaths and bells. Two horses stood ready with sleighs hitched up. Their drivers stood in front with them. One was feeding his horse a carrot.

"I'm friends with with the woman who runs it." Elsa said. "She has a stable a few miles east of the park. It's only a few sleighs and horses, but at least I know that the horses are all treated well."

"Oh, we get to give them carrots?" Kristoff said.

Anna smiled at him, and Elsa reached into her purse to pull out a bag of baby carrots.

"Oh, you think of _everything_!" Anna exclaimed, opening the bag and pouring some into Kristoff's hands.

"You go on ahead." Kristoff jerked his chin towards the horses and he followed her.

After getting permission from the driver, Anna fed her carrots one by one to the horse by holding them on her flat palm. She giggled at the tickling sensation. Kristoff smiled warmly watching her light up with excitement. He handed her his carrots, one by one. They climbed into the sleigh and pulled the blankets over themselves.

Anna settled into Kristoff and he stretched an arm around her.

Elsa looked at them for a second before saying, "So, do you two have anything to tell me?"

Anna smiled. "Nothing I don't think you didn't already know."

Elsa looked at Kristoff for a second. "I like this one, Anna."

Anna looked up at Kristoff. "Me too."

Kristoff turned a bit pink with the cold and with the embarrassment. "You know, if you two don't have other plans, you're welcome to come spend Christmas with my family. I know they'd love to meet you, Elsa." he rolled his eyes a little. "And I know they'll freak out when they see you again, Anna."

Anna gasped and sat up a little straighter.

"I didn't have anything planned." Elsa said.

"Me neither! Oh, when do we leave?"

"It's just past sunset." Kristoff said. "I was planning to leave either way after the sleigh ride to be there when the kids wake up on Christmas morning."

"Someone has to eat Santa's cookies."

"Bulda will have made six hundred cookies, I promise you will not want for desserts." Kristoff said, chuckling a little.

"Oh, we'll see." Anna said, some challenge in her voice.

"You might want to text Bulda, tell her to up those numbers." Elsa joked.

"Actually, I will text her." Kristoff pulled his phone out of his pocket with his free hand. "She'd probably want to know more people were coming, though I know she won't mind."

_**Hi, Ma. **_

_**Hi baby! 3 3 3 How's your Christmas Eve? Still with the pretty girl?**_

_**Ha, yeah I am. I was actually wondering if you'd mind if she and her sister spent Christmas with us? They don't really have other family. **_

_**Of course I wouldn't mind! Darling that would be delightful! All the babies will be so excited to see Miss Anna again, we have a couple more air mattresses around here somewhere. **_

_**Thanks, love you. **_

_**I love you more than the moon and stars! 3 3 Have you come to your senses about that girl yet, or are you still 'not dating'?**_

…_**..we're dating. I don't want to hear it.**_

"Oh, God, she's calling me. Who taught her FaceTime?" Kristoff said, fumbling with his phone.

His hesitation was key to his failure. Anna clicked the green button before he had a chance.

"Hi Ms. Bulda!" she said, grinning excitedly.

"Oh, just as cute as I remember!" Bulda said excitedly. "Come here, come here!"

Two children Anna didn't remember pressed themselves into the camera view. "Hi!"

"This is Kristoff's _girlfriend_." Bulda stressed.

"Oooooh!" a young boy yelled, smiling to reveal missing teeth.

"Gross!" A little girl yelled.

"Now, be nice! He likes her very much!"

"I'm Johnny!"

"Hi Johnny!" Anna laughed.

"Thanks, Ma." Kristoff said sarcastically.

"Anna, I cannot wait to show you these albums of Kristoff. He had the chubbiest little face-"

"No! Ma, no! No!" Kristoff said, turning the phone back towards him.

"Oh, put me back on you and Anna!" Bulda said.

"No albums!"

"You can show me later." Anna whispered, sticking her head back in the frame.

"I'm right next to you! I heard that!"

"We're very excited to have you all come down. I'll make an extra roast." Bulda smiled.

Elsa switched benches and scooted in. "We don't need an extra roast-"

"Oh, I'm not so sure." Anna cut in.

"We don't mean to intrude, it's very kind of you to even offer to host. Don't go through any extra trouble for us." Elsa smiled.

"Oh, honey." Bulda smiled. "Now we're not acquainted yet, so I won't take that personally, but there's nothing I love more than goin' to some trouble." she winked, shooing the children off to go play. "Now, what kind of pies do you like?"

"Plural?" Anna said excitedly. Kristoff laughed.

"You name it, baby!"

"Chocolate!" she and Elsa said at the same time, both giggling after.

"I'll make three!"

"Ma-"

"I will eat three pies, Kristoff."

…

They came back from the sleigh ride pink and giggling. Elsa went upstairs to throw a few things into a bag so they could head off. Anna headed inside to do the same, but Kristoff grabbed her wrist and yanked her back, pulling her into a deep kiss. Anna melted into his arms, running her hand down his chest like she'd imagined doing so many times.

Snow fell in fluttering flakes around them, landing on her bright red hair and the pale blonde streak that ran through it. It dusted Kristoff's shoulders and melted against the body heat that radiated even through his coat. The sky was clouded over and wrapped them in comfort and anticipation - for the next day, and the many days to follow.

Kristoff broke apart from her and kissed her forehead. "Jeg elsker deg så mye, kjære"

"You have to tell me what you said!"

He stooped to kiss her again. "You already know." he slid an arm around her waist and they walked inside, to gather her things and join his family for the first of many Christmases to come.


End file.
